22 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 73 



Memorandum from Paleontologists of the Geological Survey : 



The suggestion made by Commissioner Bather that this name might be re- 

 garded as anonymous is unwarranted, for it is published as " Scalpellum gabbi 

 Wade, n. sp.," and the pubhshed record must be accepted. Miss Rathbun's de- 

 nial of authorship is confirmatory evidence on this point. 



On the other hand. Commissioner Bather's opinion that the name can be 

 disposed of as a nomen nudum seems to be justified. Most conditional new 

 names could not be so summarily dealt with, but the author states that " should 

 additional specimens be obtained sufficient for establishing a new species, the 

 species might very properly be called Scalpellum gabbi Wade, n. sp." (italics 

 ours). 



[Signed:] "In full agreement," George H. Girty, W. P. Woodring, P. V. 



Roundy, W. C. Mansfield, John B. Reeside, Jr. 

 " I concur in the above statement," T. W. Stanton. 

 " In my opinion the name ' Scalpellum gabbi ' is a nomen nudum 



and therefore for the present without standing." E. O. Ulrich. 

 " The reasoning in this matter seems to be conclusive." Charles 



Butts. 

 "The name should be considered a ' nonieii nudmn' and without 



other standing." Edwin Rich. 



Memorandum from L. W. Stephanson and C. Wythe Cooke : 



The name Scalpellum gabbi, as it now stands has, in our opinion, no validit}'. 

 and can only be given validity by a revisor. 



A revisor might select one of the specimens as holotype, in which case the 

 name would apply to that specimen only, unless the revisor, or some subsequent 

 author, could show that it exhibits a specific character or characters which 

 would permit of its identification with other specimens. 



The revisor probably would, through courtesy, credit the name to Wade, but 

 he would be justified in claiming the credit for himself, or he would even be 

 justified in ignoring Wade's name and applying an entirely new name to the 

 species. 



The Secretary has verified the original publication and concurs in 

 the statement of premises and in the conclusion, and recommends 

 that the Commission adopt the following: 



Summary. — The name Scalpellum gabbi Wade, 1926, is a nomen 

 nudum, as of 1926, since it is definitely made dependent by its author 

 on hypothetical specimens. See Opinion 2. 



Opinion prepared by Bather and Stiles. 



Opinion concurred in by thirteen (13) Commissioners: Apstein, 

 Bather, Chapman, Dabbene, Handlirsch, Hartert, Horvath, Ishikawa, 

 Jordan (D. S.), Jordan (K.), Stiles, Stone, Warren. 



Opinion dissented from by no Commissioner. 



Not voting: Kolbe, I.oennberg, Neveu-Lemaire, Silvestri, Stej- 

 neger. 



