214 FISHES OF THE GEKFS CHAEACIXFS—f; ILL. 



It is to be remembered that Gmelin intercalated the species he added 

 to the " Systenia Xatur;v" according to their sui)posed affinities, but 

 with the numbers continued from the highest of Linn.eus. 



The species with numbers after tlie accepted names recjuire some 

 consideration. 



1. The Mj/lefes niloticKS or flenfe.r is tlie Alestes kotschyi (not dentex) 

 of Giintlier, and as it was the only described species for which Cnvier 

 originally' framed the genus, it should retain the former generic name. 

 The South American species referred to Myietes should take the name 

 Myleiis of Miiller and Troschel. This genus has been divided into two 

 subgenera, Mylcfcs and Myleiis. For the former. MyJopht^ may be 

 taken as a substitute. The classical form Mylites {dente.v) has been used 

 for the typical form by Minding-, and perhaps will be accepted by 

 purists. The *V. dentex of Hasselquist, or *S'. uiloticKs of Forskal, is a 

 different species — M. hasselqidstii, Cuvier. 



2. The Chdravinus f/ibbosKS is Alesfes gihbosus, (liinther. as already 

 indicated. 



■i. The Sidmo (Characinns) inimactilatus is at present unidentifiable. 



4. The Synod us fcetensis Sanrns fcpfenfi of Giinther, and of course has 

 no affinity to the Characinids. 



5. The Curimata cyprinoides must take that name, as Curlmafa was 

 the first Latin form of the name given.' 



(>. The Distichodus (vgyptlus is D. niloticus, Giinther. Dr. Giinther 

 takes the name from Hasselquist, whose Avork was published in 1757, 

 but if the precepts of the British and American Associations for the 

 Advancement of Science and other biological societies are adopted, no 

 names behind the tenth edition can be accepted. ])r. Giinther, in his 

 synonymy ^ quotes ^^ Salnio a'{/y])tiaru.s, liinnteus, Gmelin, I, p. 1380," 

 but the form used by Linnaeus and Gmelin was S. (vyyptius. As JEyyp- 

 tius was the older and more classical form, it is not obvious why any 

 one should have wished to alter the name to JEgyptiavus. 



7. The Salmo {Characinus) pulverulentus has never been identified, 

 but was probably a Tetragonopfcrus. 



Inasmuch as Liunieus really derived the conception of the genus, as 

 well as the basis of this name, from Gronovius, we should take one of 

 the two species originally referred l)y that author to his genus Gharax. 

 Swainson, as early as 1839, revived the Linntean designation {Cluo-aci- 

 nns) for the G. gibbosus, and Valenciennes was inclined to adopt the 

 Grouovian name {Gharax) for the genus, to which he nevertheless 



I Mem. Mas. Hist. Nat.. 1, 11.5, 1815; Regne Animal, II, 66. 1817. Dr. Giinther weut 

 back tor Mjiletes only to Cuvier, Mem. Mus., IV, p. 444, when the South Americau 

 species attributed to it Avere first described. 



-Lehrbuch,p. 121, 1832. 



3 Cloquet, Diet. Hist. Nat., XII, p. 240. 1818. 



* Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus.. X, p. 860. 



