60 



MANUAL OF THE MOLLUSCA. 



One very common estuary shell rejoices in the followin 

 variety of titles: — 



Scrobicularia piperata {Gmelin sp). 



Trigonella plana {Da Costa). 



Mactra Listeri {Auct). 



My a Hispanica [Chemnitz). 



Venus borealis {Pennant). 



Lutraria compressa {Lamarck). 



Arenaria plana {Megerle). 

 As regards specific names, the earliest ought certainly to be 

 adopted, — with, however, the following exceptions : — 



1. MS. names; which are only admitted by courtesy. 



2. Names given by writers antecedent to Linnaeus. 



3. Names unaccompanied by a description or figm-e. 



4. Barbarisms; or names involving error or absurdity,* 



It is also very desii-able that names having a general (Eu- 

 ropean) acceptation, should not be changed, on the discovery of 

 earlier names in obscm-e publications. 



With respect to genera, — those who believe in their real ex- 

 istence, as " ideas of the creating mind," will be disposed to set 

 aside many random appellations, given to particular shells with- 

 out any clear enunciation of their characters ; and to adopt later 

 names, if bestowed with an accurate perception of the grounds 

 which entitle them to generic distinction.! 



Autliority for specijic names. The multiplication of syno- 

 nyms having made it desirable to place the authority after each 



* This subject was investigated, and reported upon, by a committee of the 

 British Association, in 1842 ; but the report was not sufficiently circulated. 



t Several bad practices — against which there is, unhappily, no law — 

 should be strongly discountenanced. First, the employment of names already 

 in familiar use for other objects ; such as cidaris (the title of a well-known 

 genus of sea-urchins), for a group of spiral shells ; and arenaria (a property of 

 the botanists), for a bivalve. Secondly, the conversion of specijic into generic 

 titles, a process which has caused endless confusion ; it has arisen out of the 

 vain desire of giving new designations to old and famihar objects, and thus 

 obtaining a questionable sort of fame. 





