Baur.] 40 [Jan. 1, 



On the Taxonomy of the Genus Emys, C. Dumeril. 



By Dr. O. Baur, Clark University, Worcester, Mass. 



{Read before the American Philosophical Society, January 1, 1892.) 



I have just read Prof. L. Vaillant's paper, "Sur la Signification taxi- 

 nomique du Genre Emys, C. Dumeril " ("Ann. Sc. Nat. Zool. et Pal.," vii« 

 serie. Tome xii. No. 1, Paris, 1891, pp. 51-63). Prof. Vaillant attempts 

 to show that the type of Emys is not Emys orbicularis L., as nearly gener- 

 ally admitted lately, but Testudo picta Schneider, now generally known 

 under the name of Chrysemys picta, and I think he is correct in this. I 

 am, however, unable to follow him in all his other conclusions. I should 

 like to add first, that the name proposed by Brogniart in manuscript, 

 before Dumeril had used the French name, les Emydes, in 1804, had been 

 "Syrinx." In Isidore Geoffroy-Saint-Hilair's paper on Trionyx, pub- 

 lished in 1809, in "Ann. du Mus. d'Hist. Nat., Paris," Vol. xiv, I find the 

 following note on page 3 : "On lisoit dans le manuscrit demeure au se- 

 cretariat de rinstitut jusqu'a la publication du volume des Savans etran- 

 gers le nom de syrinx au lieu de celui d'emyde, mais M. Dumeril ayant 

 depuis propose ce dernier nom, M. Brogniart I'adopta lors de I'lmpression 

 de son M6moire." 



Besides, I should like to state that the original paper of Brogniart, 

 " Essai d'une classification naturelle des Reptiles," appeared for the first 

 time in 1799, in the "Magazin encyclopedique, ou Journal des Sciences, 

 des Letires et des Arts," redige par A. L. Millin, Vol. vi, pp. 184-201, 

 An. viii, 1799, and was reprinted in the "Bulletin des Sciences, par la 

 Sociele Philomatiqne, " No. 35, pp. 81, 82, Paris, Pluviose, an 8 de la 

 R^publique, and No. 36, pp. 89-91, pi. vi, Ventose, au 8 de la Repub- 

 lique (1800). 



It was Michael Oppel * who, for the first time, used the fact already 

 noticed by Schopff", that in Emys orbicularis the front portion of the 

 plastron is movable, to distinguish in the genus Emys three subdivisions. 



" Subdivisiones secundum scriptores recentissimos. 



" (a) Sterno antice mobili, e.g., Emys lutaria. 



"(b) Sterno cruciform!, e.g., E. serpentina. 



" (c) Collo longissimo, sub testam arcuate reflcxa, non retractili, e.g., 

 E. lonqicolUs." 



E. serpentina was placed in a new genus, Ghelydra, by Schweigger, in 

 1812 ("Konigsberger Archiv fiir Naturwissenschaft und Mathematic, " 

 Vol. i, pp. 280, 292, 293, Konigsberg, 1812), f and E. longicoUis in the 

 new genus Chelodina, by Fitzinger, in 1826.:]: 



* Oppel, Michael, "Die Orduiingen, Familien und Gattuugen der Reptilien," Miiu- 

 chen, 1811, p. 11. 

 t This is the original publication . 

 J Fitzinger, L. T., "Neuc Classiflcatiou der Reptilien," Wien, 1820, p. 6. 



