ON SOME FISH GENERA OF THE FHiST EDITION OF 

 CUVIER'S REGNE ANIMAL AND OKEN'S NAMES. 



By Theodore Gill. 



Honorartf AsKOciatt' In Zoolotjy. 



Ill the first edition of the Regne Aiiiiiml (ibilT) Cuvicr introchued 

 many new genera or subgenera, but most of them were named only 

 in French guise. Consequently many naturalists have refused to 

 accept them, but adopted the first Latin names given subseiiuently, 

 whether they were simply Latin equivalents for Cuvier's or substi- 

 tutes for them. My desire to retain the excellent name Lurloperca 

 for the pike-perches led me to search for earlier commentators on 

 Cuvier and latin equivalents of his names than I had previously found. 

 Several years ago I concluded to look through th<^ volumes of the Isis 

 and ascertain if Oken had anything to say about the subject. Tiie 

 volume for that year in the library of the Smithsonian Institution was 

 without an index, but finally, at page 1145, I came upon an elaborate 

 commentary by Oken" on the classification proposed by Cuvier. and 

 that classification and Oken's arranged in parallel columns. I com- 

 municated this discovery to several naturalists, and among them to 

 President Jordan, who has consequently been able to "'get to hottom" 

 in the case of several of the Cuyerian genera. In order that others 

 ma}^ have equal facilities, I hereinbelow give the names of Cuvier 

 which were prefixed by a French article and Avithout formal Latin 

 names. Cuvier was quite inconsistent in the latin ization of the names, 

 sometimes giving them with all formality, within parentheses, after 

 the French names, but generally neglecting to do so. The names 

 here treated are those respecting which the neglect was manifested. 



The volumes of Isis are often quite difficult to consult. In the present 

 case, Oken's commentary extends through the whole of fi\e numbers 

 entitled and numbered as follows : 



No. 144, colunms 1145-1152; no. 145, columns Ilo3-ll(i0: no. 146, 

 columns 1161-1168; no. 147, columns 116!)-11T6. There are two col- 

 umns to each page and the columns (not pages) are numbered. 



aCuviers und Okens Zoologien iieben einander gestellt: in I^is, 1817. jip. and col. 

 1145-1179 + 1779-1782 + 1182-1184 (irregularly nnmtered: see explanation above). 



Proceedings U S. National Museum, Vol. XXVI— No. 1346. 



