1910] Melander — The Genus Tachydromia 43 
deter others from using the ancient names. Yet Kertész’ last volume 
of the Catalogus Dipterorum hujusque descriptorum, volume v., 1909, 
adopts the family name Omphralidae for the Scenopinidae; his 
Catalogue of palaearctic diptera uses five of the early names in volume 
il; while Czerny in a paper on Spanish Diptera! has discarded the 
family names Scatophagidae and ‘Trypetidae, as he uses for them 
Meigen’s earlier type genera Scopeuma and Euribia, forming thereby 
the family names Scopeumatidae and Euribiidae. However, Czerny 
does not use Meigen’s early Cypsela to replace Borborus, as was ad- 
vocated in Hendel’s reprint. 
Volume i of the palaearctic catalogue has dispensed with the 
following well known genera on the plea of priority: Hphippiuwm, 
Oxycera, Odontomyia, Xylophaqus, Ilaematopota, Subula and Leptis. 
Surely the dipterist has a bewildering memory-lesson before him. 
It is strongly to be urged in this period of nomenclatural unrest 
that writers be not too hasty in adopting the suggestions of Dr. Hendel. 
The trend of public opinion is that genera without species shall have 
no place in our system of classification. In view of the projected action 
of the Committee of the International Congress of Zoologists (see 
number 23 below), it would be decidedly rash to rush into publications 
the once-discarded names of 1800. It would be better to hold in 
abeyance any personal desires fer Meigen’s first names until the 
Committee can rectify the Code on this question. Such conservatism 
may prevent a premature overthrow of the names of our commonest 
genera, and might spare our overburdened literature from most con- 
fusing rearrangements of synonyms. 
1. Nature, August 27, 1908, pp. 394-395. 
A composite letter by British zoologists deploring the fact that a 
strict adherence to rules sometimes brings unfortunate consequences. 
Li) 
N. Banks, Science, xxviii. 
Advises others who have rare papers to republish them. 
3. 8S. W. Williston, Manual, 3rd. edit. p. 390, 1908. 
“Hendel would have deserved the thanks of a long suffering public 
had he withheld these copies instead of republishing.” 
+. M. Bezzi, Wiener entom. Zeit. xxvii. 252, Sept. 1908. 
Comments on the adoption of the names of 1800 that come in vol. iil. 
of Kertesz’ Catalogue of palearctic diptera, a course in which, naturally, 
he approves. 
1 Verh. k. k. zool.-bot. Gesellsch., Wien, vol. 59, 1909. 
