1910] Melander — The Genus Tachydromia 43 



deter others from using the ancient names. Yet Kertesz' last vohime 

 of the Catalogus Dipterorum hujusque descriptorum, volume v., 1909, 

 adopts the family name Omphralidae for the Scenopinidae; his 

 Catalogue of palaearctic diptera uses five of the early names in volume 

 iii; while Czernij in a paper on Spanish Diptera '^ has discarded the 

 family names Scatophagidae and Trypetidae, as he uses for them 

 Meigen's earlier type genera Scopeuma and Euribia, forming thereby 

 the family names Scopeumatidae and Euribiidae. However, Czerny 

 does not use Meigen's early CypseJa to replace Borborus, as was ad- 

 vocated in Hendel's reprint. 



Volume iii of the palaearctic catalogue has dispensed with the 

 following well known genera on the plea of priority: Ephippium, 

 Oxycera, Odontomyia, Xylophagus, Haematopota, Subula and Leptis. 

 Surely the dipterist has a bewildering memory-lesson before him. 



It is strongly to be urged in this period of nomenclatural unrest 

 that writers be not too hasty in adopting the suggestions of Dr. Hendel. 

 The trend of public opinion is that genera without species shall have 

 no place in our system of classification. In view of the projected action 

 of the Committee of the International Congress of Zoologists (see 

 number 23 below), it would be decidedly rash to rush into publications 

 the once-discarded names of 1800. It would be better to hold in 

 abeyance any personal desires for Meigen's first names until the 

 Committee can rectify the Code on this question. Such conservatism 

 may prevent a premature overthrow of the names of our commonest 

 genera, and might spare our overburdened literature from most con- 

 fusing rearrangements of synonyms. 



1. Nature, August 27, 1908, pp. 394-395. 



A composite letter by British zoologists deploring the fact that a 

 strict adherence to rules sometimes brings unfortunate consequences. 



2. N. Banks, Science, xxviii. 



Advises others who have rare papers to republish them. 



3. S. W. Williston, Manual, 3rd. edit. p. 390, 1908. 



"Hendel would have deserved the thanks of a long suffering public 

 had he withheld these copies instead of republishing." 



4. M. Bezzi, Wiener entom. Zeit. xxvii. 252, Sept. 1908. 



Comments on the adoption of the names of 1800 that come in vol. iiL 

 of Kertesz' Catalogue of palaearctic diptera, a course in which, naturally, 

 he approves. 



1 Verh. k. k. zool.-bot. Gesellsch., Wien, vol. 59, 1909. 



