92 Allen — Ctrtain Generic and /Sjjeci/ic ^\ajies. 



It appears to me, however, that Z^roleptes is not the proper 

 name to take the place of Tamandua Gray, 1825, where it 

 stands as a nomen nudum, becoming only properly habilitated, 

 as shown by Dr. Palmer, by Lesson in 1842. In this case Zl-o- 

 hpten has nndoubted priority over Taniandna, but it appears 

 that F. Cnvier in 1829,* used the same name, slightly varied in 

 orthography, for the same group one year earlier than the pulv 

 lication of Uroleptei^. Cuvier recognized three genera of his 

 family ''Les Myrmecophages,"' namely: (1) "Les Tamanoirs, 

 MlirmiropJiaiid Linn./" (2) "Les Tamanduas, TamandufiK,^^ and 

 (3) "Les Didactyles, Dlddcfijhs.'" JMi/rtn<copJiaga included 

 only the (^reat Anteater, the genus ))eing propei'ly attributed to 

 Linnanis. DidacfijleK is the same as Ci/dopes Gray, 1821, leav- 

 ing the second genus, TanKntdinis, for the other members of 

 family, namely the Tamanduas of naturalists. The name 

 TaniiindiKifi is used in as strictly a technical sense as either of 

 the other names adopted by Cuvier for the other members of 

 liie family Myrmecoi)hagidae, and 1 see no reason why the 

 name TannnidiiuK is not tenal)le from Cuvier, 1829, for the 

 grouj> of Anteaters included in J^rah i>t<^ by Wagler one year 

 later. 



Respecting the name Dldelphis, I am gratitied to hnd that 

 Mr. Thomas supports my contention! for its tenability. A 

 word, however, respecting the earlier speciiic names applied to 

 various members of this group. As is well known Linnjeus's 

 J). nKvrs'upialis was a composite group based on references to 

 (1) the Virginia Opossum, (2) the Guiana Opossum, and (3) the 

 large Mexican Opossum, the latter being the Tlacuatzin of Her- 

 nandez. It appeal's to me that the most satisfactory way of 

 dealing with this composite group is to follow the usual method, 

 whether the group be specific or generic, namely, the principle 

 of elimination. The naine ni(irxi(piali)< must, of course, be re- 

 tained for some member of the composite group. As the first 

 member to receive a special name was the Guiana Opossum, 

 named Dklelplth Ixarkinopyliaein, l)y Zimmermann in 1783, this 

 name should be applied in a specific sense to the large Opos- 

 sums of northeastern South America. The next member of the 

 original marsiipixdis group to receive a name was the Virginia 



*Dict. des Sci. Nat., LIX, p. 501, 1839. 



fBull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., XIII, pp. 185-188, Oct., 1900. 



