196 General Notes. 



Note on the generic name of the horseshoe crab. 



Mr. Pocock in his article "The Taxonomy of Recent Species of 

 Limulus" (Ann. Mag. Nat Hist. 7th ser., IX, p. 257, 1902), considers that 

 the validity of the generic name Xipltonuru rests solely on the Gronovian 

 foundation. On the contrary, before 17S5, the date of Muller's Limulus, 

 Xiphosura was adopted by at least three binomial writers, viz: by Brun- 

 nich (Zoologije Fundamenta, p. 208, 1772), Scopoli (Introd. Hist. Nat., 

 p. 405, 1777) andMeuschen (Mus. Gronov., p. 8v3, 1778). — Mary J. liutfibun. 



A further note on the name of the Argentine Viscacha. 



As has been fully shown,* there is no doubt of the pertinence of the 

 generic name Viscaceia Schinz, 1825, to "la Yizcache, " of Azara, the 

 Argentine Viscacha. But it turns out that Oken (Lehvb. d. Naturg. , 

 Tlieil III, Abth. 2, p. S35, 1S2G) used thesame term in 18Ri, in nearly the 

 same sense. Oken included in his group or subgenus ViAcaccia only two 

 species: (1) Lcpus cJiilenm and (2) Mus laniger. The first, notwith- 

 standing the name cMlensis, is based, as far as the descrij)tion is con- 

 cerned, wholly on "la Vizcache" of Azara, while in his diagnosis of the 

 group Viseaceia he says "Zehen vorn 4, hinten 3," which would exclude 

 his second species, the Mus laniger of Molina, and hence the Chinchilla 

 of Peru. As Bennett in 1829, made the Chinchilla the type of his genus 

 C/d/ichilla, the Argentine Vischacha also becomes by restriction the type 

 and only species of Oken's Viseaceia, the authority for which name is 

 thus Oken (181G) instead of Schinz (1825). 



It also unfortui^ately happens that Oken's name eldUnsis has one year's 

 priority over maximus of Desmarestf (JDipus viaximusDe&m.. ex Blainville 

 M. S.). Hence, apparently, the Argentine Viscacha must be called 

 Viseaceia chile7isis {0\i.en) . From his account of the animal, he appears, 

 to have believed, as did Azai'a, that it was found in Peru, and also in 

 Chili, as shown by his reference to the use made of its fur in those 

 countries. He gives its distribution correctly, however, as follows: "In 

 Paraguay ist es nur westlich des Flusses Urugviay, vom 30° B. gegen 

 Siiden, siidlich von Buenos Ayres sehr gemein." 



Oken was almost erratic and irregular in nom.enclatorial matters, viewed 

 from the standpoint of present day usuages, as was Zimmermann in his- 

 "Specimen Zoologice Geographicie" 1777. His use of the generic names 

 Lepus and Mus for the species he placed under Viseaceia will not sur- 

 prise systematists who are familiar with the character of Oken's "Lehr- 

 buch, ' ' although the name Lepus ehilensis is apparently Oken's own name. 

 It appears to have heretofore escaped citatioxi. — J. A. Allen. 



*Cf. Palmer, Science, N. S., VI, p. 21, July 2, 1897; Thomas, Proc. 

 Biol. Soc. Wash., XIV, p. 25, April 2, 1901; Allen, ibid., p. 181, Dec. 2, 

 1901. 



fNouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., XIII, p. 117, 1817. 



