154 General Notes. 



This therefore would not only be its type, but would by elimination re- 

 strict Tayassu and Dicotyles to tlie other species mentioned in the re- 

 spective original descriptions of those genera. Dr. Merriam's Olidosus 

 would thus not be required. 



But while Linnaevis's Sus tajacu was the collared Peccary, Fischer's 

 Sus tajassu was, as is clearly shown by the synonymy in his Zoognosia,* 

 the whitelipped species, and that, therefore, must count as the type of 

 NotopJiorus, and by elimination bring Tayussu on to the true T. tajacu. 

 We should thus have Tayassu, Fisch. 



Subgenus Tayassu, Fisch. (Syn. Dicotyles, Cuv.) Species T. tajacu 

 (type), angulatus, turviis, etc. Subgenus Notopliorus, Fiscli. (Syn. 

 Olidosus, Merr.) Species T. (N.) albirostris (type) and T. a. ringens. 



Doctor Allen has taken the same view about the principle of full syno- 

 nyms in the case of the Eared Seals, when showingf "that the genus 

 Otoes, Fischer, 1817, is an exact synonym of Otaria Peron, 181C," and 

 so far I fully agree with him. 



But I would venture to ask if the principle on which the name Cal- 

 lorJdniis Gray, 1859, is rejected ("preoccupied by CalUrhinus, Blanch- 

 ard, 18.j0 ") is not now an obsolete one, and should we not therefore 

 adopt that name. 



The logical outcome of the non-emendation system, nearly univer.sally 

 adopted in America, and now unreservedly accepted here by myself and 

 others, is that unless two names are entirely alike, the earlier does not 

 preoccupy the later, however closely they may resemble each other. 

 Even if I did not go so far as in the case next following, I should still 

 consider Calloj-Mnus and CalUrhinus rs " permissible variants " of one 

 compound, and each as valid as Picas and Pica. 



The extreme of this principle is reached in the case of the Leopard 

 Seal, now commonly, but for two reasons erroneously, called Ogmorhinus, 

 (Peters, 1875). 



Firstly, its original and still well-known name was spelt StenorhincJms 

 on its first publication in 182C,:}; and I hold that the name is not invali- 

 dated by the StenorJiynchus or ,Sfenory/ichus of earlier authors. 



Secondly, it may be pointed out, for the benefit of those who might 

 refuse to accept StenorldncJms that Peter's OgmorMnus of 1875, can in 

 no case stand, as the genus had already been renamed Ilydrurga by 

 Gistl in 1848.11 



To recapitulate, I consider that the two subgenera of the Peccaries 

 should bear the names of Tayassu, Fisch., and Notophcyrus, Fisch., the 

 Northern Fur Seal that of Callorhinus, Gray, and the Sea Leopard, 

 Stenorhinchus, F. Cuv. — Oldfield Thomas 



*III, p. 285. 



fBull. Am. Mus. N. H., XVI, p. 110, 1902. 

 :t:F. Cuv. Diet. Sci. Nat. XXXIX, p. 549, 1826. 

 INaturg. Thierr, p. XI, 1848. 



