Vol. XXIV, pp. 7-12 January 28, 1911 



PROCEEDINGS 



or in i ; 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE SCYPHOMEDUS/E. 

 COMPILED BY T. D. A. COCKERELL. 



Having become greatly interested in Dr. A. G. Mayer's great 

 work Medusae of the World (Carnegie Institution, 1910), and 

 being at the same time concerned with matters of nomenclature, 

 I was led to take up the nomenclatural questions involved in 

 the classification of the Medusae, and in consequence to enter 

 upon a correspondence with Dr. Mayer regarding a number of 

 difficult points. 



Dr. Mayer's work is so well done that it affords material for 

 the investigation of almost any question that may arise regard- 

 ing the Medusae. From the standpoint of correct nomenclature, 

 and in some cases proper grammatical form, fault may often 

 be found with the names of the subfamilies, families and higher 

 groups. The objectionable forms are of course in no case due 

 to Dr. Mayer, but have been received from older authors who 

 were more or less indifferent to the preferred usages of zoologists. 

 There are certainly good reasons for adopting a fairly uniform 

 system of nomenclature for the higher groups in zoology, and 

 in particular the names of families and subfamilies should 

 accord with the International Code. 



In the following list I have included the Scyphomedusa? of 

 the world down to genera (excepting those which are of quite 

 uncertain status), and in each case have given the carefully 

 ascertained type species of the genus. The whole list has been 

 very kindly gone over by Dr. Mayer (who is substantially its 

 author, although he declines to stand in that position) and 

 approved by him, with two exceptions presently to be men- 

 tioned. In several cases, where I had suggested an innovation 

 with a query, he ran his pencil through the query-mark; but 

 o— Pkoc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. XXIV, 1911. (7) 



