General Notes. 199 



PAGOPHILA EBURNEA VERSUS PAGOPHILA ALBA. 



The name of the ivory gull has recently been changed from Pagophila alba 

 (Gunnerus) to Pagophila eburnea (Phipps) because the original description 

 of Pagophila alba (Larus albus Gunnerus, in Leem's Beskr. Finm. Lapp., 

 1767, p. 285; northern Norway) was not considered identifiable (c/. Hartert 

 et al., List British Birds, 1912, p. 203; Committee, British Ornith. Union, 

 List British Birds, 1915, p. 394). The specific name alba was originally 

 applied to the ivory gull by Stejneger (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., VI, June 13, 

 1882, p. 39), and has since been generally accepted by American ornitholo- 

 gists. An examination of the original description seems to leave little doubt 

 that the name is properly applicable to the species in question, since this 

 is the only gull with normally pure white plumage living in the far northern 

 regions. The bird should, therefore, continue to be known as Pagophila 

 alba. 



For the benefit of those who may not have access to the rare book in which 

 Larus albus Gunnerus appeared, we hereby transcribe the original descrip- 

 tion: 



"Prseter Laros jam enumeratos apud nos adhuc datur 1) Larus albus, 

 Norlandis Vald-Maase dictus, qui toto interdum corpore albus esse & Laro 

 cano vel & fusco magnitudine convenire perhibetur. V. Dn. Matthias Brunn, 

 Vefsensium nunc pastor, se hunc in prasfectura Vosteraalen Norlandiae 

 nonnunquam vidisse mini persvasit. Plur. V. Dn. Buschmann, praepositus 

 Helgelandise & paroecise Naesne pastor meritissimus, me itidem certiorem 

 fecit, eundem Larum in Helgelandia nostra vulgo satis notum esse, ut ab 

 omnibus reliquis Laris ante memoratis distinctum, licet ipse eum nondum 

 nisi eminus viderit. Ni valde fallor, Larus hie habendus est idem ac Senator 

 Martensii, qui toto corpore albus, rostro & pedibus nigris describitur esse. 

 Sed, quid de nigredine rostri judicem, nescio, quum hie color in rostris 

 reliquorum Larorum, e. g. marinorum, hyberboreorum, canorum & tridac- 

 tylorum jam adultorum prorsus evanescat. Characterem Martensii, quern 

 addit, nimirum: tridactylus, taceo; ilium tamen ob oculos habeant, qui 

 occasionem Larum nostrum album examinandi nacti fuerint." 



— Harry C. Oberholser. 



SOME NECESSARY CHANGES IN CRUSTACEAN NOMENCLAT- 

 URE. 



In 1915 Mr. L. A. Borradaile (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. [8], vol. 15, p. 

 207) distributed the species of Periclimenes among four subgenera which 

 he called Ensiger, Corniger, Cristiger and Falciger. The type of the genus 

 Periclimenes, P. insignis Costa, 1844= Alpheus scriptus Risso, 1826, falls in 

 the subgenus Cristiger, which should therefore be known as the subgenus 

 Periclimenes. The name Corniger has previously been used once in fishes 

 and twice in Crustacea; it may be replaced by the name Laomenes, nom.no v. 

 The name Falciger has been previously used in the coleoptera; it may be 

 replaced by Cuapetes, nom. nov. — Austin H. Clark. 



