238 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL AND NOMENCLATORIAL NOTES ON 

 THE RHYNCHOTA, No. 1. 



By G. W. Kirkaldy, F.E.S. 



These notes will serve as a commentary, to some extent, on 

 the " Nomenclature of the Genera of the Ehynchota " now ap- 

 pearing serially in the ' Entomologist.' 



I wish, first of all, to modify "method" No. 3 {I.e., 1900, 

 p. 26). After considerable correspondence with my friend Mr. 

 L. B. Prout, who is making similar studies upon the nomencla- 

 ture of certain Lepidoptera, I have come to feel with him that a 

 more logical method is to work out each genus independently. 

 Fabricius was ignorant of (or ignored) Latreille's work published 

 the previous year, and there is no doubt that the genera are co- 

 extensive and practically identical. I have not, therefore, adopted 

 the usual plan, in such a case, of fixing the remaining (or one of 

 the remaining, if there are more than one) species as the type of 

 the other genus. 



1762. Geoffroy's ' Histoire abrege ' has been placed by 

 Renter (in his ' Revisio ') among the non-Linnean works, viz. : 

 ' Arbeiten in welchen die bimire nomenclatur nicht durchgefiihrt 

 ist.' I have but little to say on this point, except that if such genera 

 as those in Latreille's "Precis" — Pentatoma, Oliv., Cylindro- 

 stethus, Fieber, &c. — are to be (as they are apparently universally) 

 accepted, it is not logical to refuse admittance to Geoffroy's work, 

 which was, generally speaking, far more scientifically conceived 

 and accurate than almost any other entomological work of his 

 century. He himself was certatnly under the impression that 

 his work was based on Linne's system, for which he expressed 

 the greatest admiration.* His genera are clearly defined, and 

 in all the Linnean species redescribed Linne's nomenclature is 

 adjoined. It appears to me quite logical to quote his " Grande 

 Punaise a avirous " (for instance) as " Notonecta qlauca, Linn., 

 Geoffr., 1762, Hist. abr. i. 476." In 1764, 0. F. Muller (Ins. 

 Fridrichsdal.) confirmed all Geoffroy's Ehynchota genera, except 

 Tetigonia, which he seems to have overlooked. 



^' " Cependant I'histoire des . . . insectes est restee jusqu' a nos jours 

 dans cette espece de confusion et c'est a M. Linnaeus, cet infatigable 

 Naturaliste Suedois, que nous devous le premier Ouvrage metbodique sur 

 cette matiere ... si son Ouvrage est encore eloigne de la perfection au 

 moins doit on lui savoir gre d'avoir montre la route qu'il faut suivre " 

 (' Discours Preliniinaire,' p. x). 



" A I'aide d'un ordre methodique, nous pratiquerous la meme chose sur 

 les insectes , . . et Ton pourra trouver le nom et I'espece d'un insecte inconnu 

 auparavant " (Z. c, xii). 



" Nous sommes done infiniment redevables a M. Linnaeus d'avoir chercbe 

 le premier a ranger methodiquement les insectes, et a trouver des caracteres 

 generiques qui les fissent plus aisement connoitre " {I. c, xiii), &c. 



