415 



II. Mitteilungen aus Museen, Instituten usw. 



1. List of most frequently used zoological names. 



There is a desire on the part of some zoologists that certain very 

 commonly used zoological names should be excepted from the applica- 

 tion of the Law of Priority, and a proposition to this effect has been 

 presented to the Commission from the British Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science and the Eastern Branch of the American Society 

 of Zoologists. That this desire is so widespread and so deeply rooted 

 as is assumed by some of our colleagues has not been confirmed by in- 

 quiries made by several members of the Commission. Further, an ef- 

 fort made by the Secretary to collect from zoologists the most com- 

 monly used and most important generic names has as yet met with such 

 poor success that the conclusion does not seem entirely unjustified that 

 some of our colleagues who may be in favor of such a list are not as 

 yet sufficiently enthusiastic over the proposition to induce them to de- 

 monstrate their desire by placing into the hands of the Commission the 

 data upon which such a list must of necessity be based. Further, there 

 are many colleagues who are known to us to be directly and enthu- 

 siastically opposed to such a list. 



After careful consideration of the subject and of the many diffi- 

 culties involved, the Commission has decided to propose to the Congress 

 the trial of a proposition which it is hoped will meet with the approval 

 of both sides of the controversy, namely, 



1) The Commission invites all zoologists to send to the Secretary 

 of the Commission, prior to January 1, 1911, a list of 100 zoological 

 generic names which they consider should be studied in connection with 

 the preparation of an »Official list«. Each name should be accompa- 

 nied either by the name of the author of the generic name, or by an in- 

 dication of the group to which it belongs. 



2) All systematists are invited to send a separate list of the 50 to 

 100 generic names in their specialty which they look upon as the most 

 important and most generally used. Each name should be accompanied 

 by the full and complete original bibliographic reference, by the name 

 of the type species, determined according to Art. 30 of the International 

 Eules, and by the name of the order and family to which the genus 

 belongs. 



3) All zoologists and paleontologists who give courses in General 

 Zoology are invited to supply the Secretary with a list of the text books 

 used in said courses so that said books may be indexed for generic names. 



4) The Commission will alphabetize all the generic names sent in 

 and will endeavor, according to circumstances, to determine which are 

 the 100 to 500 most commonly quoted genera. 



5) The genera selected will be submitted to specialists in the 



