516 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 83 



Syngnathus foliatus of Shaw.^^ This species is now usually placed in 

 the genus PhyllojJteryx Swainson, 



Wliile Perry doubtfully erects his genus Hippocampus, it is probably 

 sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the code. He evident!}^ 

 established his Hippocampus independently of Rafinesque, and the 

 names as used by the two refer to two distinct genera by the appli- 

 cation of the rules of nomenclature now in force. Perry's Hippo- 

 campus is monotypic and is based on S. foliatus Shaw, which is now 

 considered to be generically distmct from S. hippocampus Linnaeus, 

 the genotype of Rafinesque's genus Hippocampus. Since both 

 authors published in the same year, 1810, the question comes up 

 as to whose name has priority. Perry's plate is dated May 1, and 

 this may be taken as the actual date of publication, although this 

 may not be so, according to our present ideas as to what constitutes 

 "publication." Rafinesque's work does not give the date on the 

 title page any more specific than 1810, while his dedication is dated 

 April 1, 1810. It is therefore possible that Rafinesque's work was 

 published before Perry's, although this is uncertain. In any case 

 there is room for reasonable doubt, and the actual date of publica- 

 tion, in a technical sense, of either work may never be determined 

 with certainty. In a doubtful case such as this, current and well- 

 established usage should be followed. Rafinesque's work, therefore, 

 is assumed to have priority, and the generic name Hippocampus is 

 here used in the same sense as it has almost universally been em- 

 ployed by systematists. 



Even if it were definitely proved that Perry's work has priority, 

 it would still be most desirable to continue the use of the name 

 Hippocampus for the seahorses. I'his clearly is a case where to 

 follow the law of priority would cause more confusion than to follow 

 general usage. Indeed, it would be notliing short of the ridiculous 

 to replace a name that has been used by nearly all authors, including 

 some pre-Linnaean writers, and to substitute another name for it 

 because of the discovery of an old neglected publication of wliich 

 only a few copies are in existence. Even Perry liimself placed the 

 seahorses proper in his genus Hippocampus, but his first monotypic 

 use of that name may have to be applied to a difi'erent genus accord- 

 ing to the rules. 



The other place in Perry's Arcana to be considered is a plate of a 

 seahorse dated December 1, 1810. The accompanying letter press 

 is headed: "Genus — Syngnathus; or. Hippocampus/ Species Erectus." 

 The locality is given as "native of the American seas, and of the 

 coasts adjacent to Mexico and the West Indies." Perry does not 

 state whether he describes a new species or substitutes the specific 



« General zoology or systematic natural history . . . , vol. 5, p. 456, pi. 180, 1804. 



