VALMONT DE BOM ARE, 1 764 2S 



edition, apparently mostly identical with the "new edition," 1775; and 

 the fourth, still larger, in 1791. 



The dictionary received no consideration in ichthyological nomencla- 

 ture until the appearance of the elaborate treatise on the sharks of the 

 world, "Plagiostomia"' by Samuel Garman, (Memoirs of the Museum of 

 Comparative Zoology at Harvard College, vol. XXXVI, 1913). 



In this work Mr. Garman makes brief reference to Valmont de 

 Bomare as a worthy author hitherto ignored in taxonomy. "The selec- 

 tion of one authority because he favored binomials more than another, 

 has led to much uncertainty among names and to many changes. It has 

 led authors to belittle and to ignore excellent works which at their time 

 of publication and much later ranked in accuracy and influence among 

 the first of the scientific publications of this period." Mr. Stejneger in- 

 forms me that a Danish edition of this Dictionary exists. 



An examination of four editions of the Dictionnaire of Valmont de 

 Bomare shows it to be a compilation pure and simple, that he did not in- 

 tend to give any new scientific names to animals or plants, but that, in a 

 few cases, he copied binomial appellations from earlier authors which 

 might be construed as revived in a scientific sense. 



It is therefore worth while to examine these cases in detail. 



First Edition, 1764. 



In the first edition, bearing date of 1764, there is no case of the use 

 of anything resembling scientific nomenclature, although Valmont often 

 gives a Latin equivalent to his French names. It is evident, however, 

 that the work of Artedi, Klein, Gronow, and Linnseus in which genera 

 and species are formally recognized, is unknown to him. 



Thus, accompanied by fair descriptions compiled from other authors, 

 he gives the following: 



"AiOL, en Latin, Scarus, un des plus beaux," etc. (vol. I, p. 95). 



"Alose, Alosa, poisson de mer qui remonte" (vol. I, p. 105). 



"Anchois, en Latin, Apua, petit poisson," etc. (I, 13, 3). 



"Anguille, Anguilla, poisson allonge," etc. (vol. I, p. 133). 



"Congre, Conger, excellent poisson," etc. (vol. II, p. 58). 



"Daurade, Aurata vulgaris, Espece de poisson," etc. (vol. II, p. 

 225). 



"fipiNOCHE, PiSCIS ACULEATUS (vol. II, p. 306). 



"Glaucus, bien des ichthyologues donnent ce nom a trois sortes de 

 poissons, I au Derbio, 2 au Liche, 3 au veritable Glaucus/' etc. (vol. 

 II, p. 512). 



