30 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIO'NS VOL. 73 



The work is anonymous, its compilation being doubtfully ascribed to Philip 

 Ludwig Statius Miiller, professor at Erlangen. In it all the generic names used 

 by Jacob Theodor Klein of Jena in his Historia Piscium Naturalis (1740 to 

 1744) are reproduced and accepted, the species still left polynomial in designa- 

 tion, the generic diagnoses being rewritten and much condensed. The Schau- 

 plats contains also a special list of genera of fishes, comprising all those of 

 Linnaeus and of Klein. The objections to the adoption of the genera of the 

 GescUschaft Schauplatz are mainly two: (a) they are published in an anony- 

 mous dictionary and (b) as to species the Linnaean Code is not adopted. 



Their rejection is foreshadowed in Opinion 21 by which the genera of 

 Klein (1744) as revised and reprinted, but zuithout adoption, by Walbaum 

 (1792) are not accepted. They are, however, adopted by Carman (Plagios- 

 toinia) . 



Their acceptance would necessitate certain changes, mostly unwelcome, in 

 current nomenclature, as follows : ^ 



Brania for Abmviis Cuvier 1817 



Cestracion for Sphyrna Rafinesque 1810 

 Dasybatus for Dasyatis Rafinesque 1810 

 Glaucus for Cacsiornorus Lacepede 1803 



Labrax for Dicentrarchus Gill i860 



Leuciscus for Lcuciscus Cuvier 1817 

 Maenas for Maena Cuvier 1817 



Narcacion for Torpedo Dumeril 1806 and 



Narcobatus Blainville 1816 

 Pristis for Pristis Linck 1790 



Prochilus for Amphiprion Schneider 1801 

 Pscudopterus for Ptcrois Cuvier 1817 

 Rhina for Squatina Dumeril 1806 



Rhombus for Bothus Rafinesque 1810 



{Rhombus Cuvier 1817) 

 Rhinobatus for Rhinobatus Schneider 

 Sargus for Diplodns Rafinesque 1810 



(Sargus Cuvier 181 7) 



A new name would be required for Cichla Schneider 1801, Cichla Klein 

 being a synonym of Labriis. 



Catesby and Browne. — The generic names of Catesby (1771) and of 

 Browne (1789) are apparently ineligible under Opinion 21, which rejects the 

 pre-Linnaean generic names of Klein as reprinted with diagnosis in condensed 

 form but not adopted by Walbaum in 1792. 



Catesby's " Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahamas " 

 (1731-1750) was reprinted in French, German, and English, two editions at 

 least, since 1758. The one published by George Edwards in 1771 shows some 

 revision, but none which afifects nomenclature. Under Opinion 13, the question 

 of the eligibility of the Edward's edition is decided adversely. 



Browne's "Civil and Natural History of Jamaica," an excellent work, 

 was published in 1756 and reprinted with some revision in 1789. There were. 



^ See Jordan, Genera of Fishes, part 1, pp. 34 and 148, 1917, for a full dis- 

 cussion of the matters involved. 



