INTRODUCTION 



The leading purpose of the Commission * of the International Con- 

 gress of Zoology is to give stability to nomenclature. To that end num- 

 erous cases of doubt have been resolved by the Commission. But the 

 work done thus far has been largely piecemeal, and by this method it 

 cannot be always made consistent with itself. Recently the Commission 

 has undertaken to fix generic names on a larger scale, covering, for ex- 

 ample, all those in use in a given group. In some small classes of ani- 

 mals this has been possible. In larger ones, it demands a study of the 

 literature more detailed than any one has yet attempted. 



Recently efforts have been made to secure stability by fiat, using 

 names more or less current, without serious regard to the law of priority. 

 To accept this plan would merely accentuate the confusion already exist- 

 ing and which has arisen through just such disregard of fundamental 

 rules. 



It seems to us that the attempts thus far have mostly begun at the 

 wrong end. The need is not to confirm modern errors but to give nom- 

 enclature a solid basis for the long future. StabiHty must rest on a thor- 

 ough study of the foundations of biological nomenclature, after which 

 the Commission's authority can be used to confirm the results of such 

 studies. 



There is no middle ground between using the oldest eligible names 

 in any given group and using whatever names we please. With the latter 



*The International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature consists (May 

 1917) of the following persons : 



Carl Apstein, Berlin ; David Starr Jordan, Stanford Uni- 



F. A. Bather, London ; versity ; 



Joel A. Allen, New York , J. H. Kolbe, Berlin ; 



Raphael Blanchard, Paris, (President) ; F. S. Monticelli, Naples; 



Ph. Dautzenberg, Paris ; Dr. Roule, Paris ; 



Ernst Hartert, Tring, England ; S. Simon, Paris ; 



Dr. Horvath, Budapest; Henry Skinner, Philadelphia; 



W. Evans Hoyle, Cardiff; Leonhard Stejneger, Washington; 



Dr. Handlirsch, Vienna; Charles Wardell Stiles, Washington, 



Karl Jordan, Tring; (Secretary). 



[7] 



