8 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 73 



How little thought d'Orbigny bestowed on the assigning of his names is shown 

 by the system on which he worked. He gave all the species of one genus fantastic 

 names with the same initial letter, after the manner of naming a class of 

 warships or liners, e. g. : Lima harpax, L. Iicllica. L. liippia, L. hilJe; Avicitla 

 jason, A. janassia, A. janira, A. jarbas. A. jauthc. etc. Many of the names so 

 lightly assigned are scarcely worthy of varietal distinction. For instance five 

 trivial varieties of forms in our familiar Great Oolite " Cyprina " loivcana Morris 

 and Lycett appear in the "Prodrome" as C. aiitiopc, C. alcyon, C. amphitryfon, 

 C. avion and C. arcthusa. All these names have priority* over Morris and Lycett's 

 Icnveaua. 



As far as my work has taken me, the recognition of d'Orbigny's names would 

 involve the following changes in the Great Oolite alone : 



Area ciidcsii Morris and Lye. would become Area cudora d'Orb. Area 

 tennitcxta M. and L. would become Area ch'cfra d'Orb. Ciiciillaca clatlirata 

 Leckenby would become C. euryta d'Orb. Myiilus siibrcniformis M. and L. would 

 become M. galanthns d'Orb. Trigonia cassiopc Lycett would require a new name. 

 Peeten hcniieostatus M. and L. would become P. rhctns d'Orb. Astarte rustica 

 Lye. would become A. vesta d'Orb. Cyprina lozwana M. and L. would become 

 C. antiope d'Orb. Protocardia stricklandi M. and L. sp. would become P. cybcle 

 d'Orb. Protocardia buckmani M. and L. would become P. lucicnsc d'Orb. (?) 

 Unicardium parritimn M. and L. would become U. ovoidcuin d'Orb. Corbiila 

 agatlia Lycett would require a new name. 



In the Corallian : 



Nucida oxfordiana Roeder would become Nneitla lielliea d'Orb. MyoconcJm 

 texta Buv. would become M. radiata d'Orb. Astarte sididcpr^essa Blake and 

 Hudln. would become A. pasiphae d'Orb. Astarte nmmnns Sauvage would 

 become A. pelops d'Orb. Astarte eoiitejeani de Loriol would become A. phillis 

 d'Orb. Isoeyprina eyreniformis Buv. sp., would become I. dimorpha d'Orb. 

 Unicardium exeentriemn (d'Orb.) Dollfuss would become U. accste d'Orb. 



Further research will probably bring many other changes to light, and where 

 it will end can only be determined by prolonged study of the d'Orbigny collection 

 in Paris. The names in the " Prodrome " being for all practical purposes 

 nornitM mida, it seems only fair that they should be officially recognised as such 

 in theory. 



B. B. Woodward (London) writes: 



I am entirely in accord with Mr. L. R. Cox and W. J. Arkell in considering 

 that the new specific names published by d'Orbigny in his " Prodrome de 

 Paleontologie Stratigraphique Univ." should be regarded as nomina nuda unless 

 accompanied by a reference to a figure or description published by some previous 

 author. 



M. Boule, Professor of Paleontology at the Museum national 

 d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, and Curator of the d'Orbigny Collection, 

 presents the following considerations : 



II est de mon devoir de protester contrc la proposition de MM. Cox et Arkell 

 de trailer aussi legerement I'oeuvre considerable et si utile d'Alcide d'Orbigny 

 et de considerer, d'ores et deja. comme inexistantes (nomina nuda) les cspeces 

 du " Prodrome ", en arguant du fait (|u'ellcs n'ont pas ete figurees. 



