( Ivii ) 



An International Zoological Congress has been held at 

 Paris during the past year, at which the rules of nomen- 

 clature have been once more reviewed and revised. 



The resolutions passed at that Congress are not at vari- 

 ance with the system usually adopted on the general lines of 

 Strickland's Rules as approved by the British Association — 

 indeed, they confirm them in all important particulars. 



The only point to which it may be worth while to call 

 attention is the rule dealing with what is known as " fixation 

 of types." 



Rule 28 of the International Code provides that " when 

 tlie original type (of a genus) is not clearly indicated, the 

 author who first subdivides the genus can apply the original 

 name to such subdivision as he may judge convenient, 

 ' co7ivenable,' and this attribution cannot be subsequently 

 altered." 



It may seem that a saving clause is here required, to 

 provide for the possibility that sufficient evidence may be 

 subsequently found to enable the original type to be clearly 

 identified, and in that case any author should surely be 

 entitled to re-establish the connection between the original 

 generic name and the original type described, where such 

 connection has been erroneously destroyed. 



In doubtful cases the first name on the list of species 

 placed under the original generic name has been habitually 

 regarded as the type so long as it truly conforms to the full 

 generic description, and the effect of the rule I have quoted 

 might be to introduce many undesirable exceptions to this 

 practice. In any case, you will all agree that the practice of 

 ignoring altogether generic names given by early authors and 

 substituting for the same typical species other more recently 

 invented designations, is one -which cannot but lead to con- 

 fusion and cause waste of time to those workers who, while 

 admitting the necessity for correction, would have preferred 

 to add to the knowledge of the subject itself, rather than to 

 the past history of those steps by which such knowledge has 

 been arrived at. It would surely be preferable in such cases 

 to expand the original description, retaining the generic 

 name rather than to write a completely new desoriptioii and 



PROC ENT. SOC. LOND., V., 1890. i 



