222 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. [1885. 



Trygon AfjusNiz, 1833-'43, Poiss. Fossiles, iii, 382**. 



Adansoii, 1844-'45, Cours d'Hist. Nat., ii, 170. 



Dum<5ril, 18(3:., Hiat. Nat. Poiss., i, 582. 



Giinther, 1870, Cat., viii, 472. 



Gill, 1873, Fish. E. Coast N. Amer., 34. 



Goode & Bean, 1879, Fishes of Essex Co., Mass., 29. 



Garmau, 1880, Bull. Mus. Coiiip. Zool., 170. 



.lord., 1883, Bull. 16, U. S. Mus., 879. 



And others. 

 Dasi/batis Jord., 1880, Pr. U. S. Mns., 31. 

 Dasibatis Garm., 1883, in Jord. Bull. 16, U. S. Mus., 65. 



Dasybatus, 1742, 1792, 1793, 1810. 



By Klein, in 1742, this name was applied to one of the Pastinacas. 

 This fact alone wonld not demand attention here if it were not for re- 

 publication and references to Klein's works since the aj)pearance of the 

 tenth edition of Linne's Systema. Besides the first species, a Ray — the 

 type of the genus under consideration — Klein had placed under the 

 name a number of Skates. His genus is not on this account to be re- 

 garded as a synonym for Raja of Linu6. That genus included as first 

 established all that Klein had placed in four genera: Narcacion, Ehino- 

 batus, Leiobatus, and Dasybatus. The first two of these latter have been 

 generally accepted, though the name Narcacion (1742, 1792, 1793) has 

 been dropped for Torpedo (1806). 



Walbaum's use of Dasybatus in 1792, and again iu 1793, does away 

 with the objections to the name on account of its early date of publica- 

 tion by Klein. The real reason Klein's work received so little attention 

 lies in its lack of accord with the binomial system. Accepting this as 

 sufficient cause for putting aside its specific designations, we still have 

 to deal, in the cases of his'genera, with AValbaum's Artedi Genera Pis- 

 cium, in which they appear, as those of Linn6, Gronow, Bloch, and 

 others, only as genera Avith names necessarily monomial. 



If it is decided that both Kleiu and Walbaum are to be considered 

 insufficient authority we shall take the next name applied to these Rays 

 in Older of time. This, applied in 1810 by Rafinesque, is in reality the 

 same name, Dasyutis being merely an incorrect spelling. 



This authority removes from the genus all of the Skates, Rajce, and 

 leaves but the first species of Klein's list, Dasybatus pastinaca. The ob- 

 jections to acceptance of the name from the earlier authorities can 

 hardly be urged against receiving it from Rafinesque. In considera- 

 tion of its original contents, his genus stands on the same footing as 

 Raja of Linne. From the date 1 810, if not before, the question in regard 

 to the adoption of the name Basybatu^s is simply one of priority. 



"Trygonobatus, 1816. 



If we were to discard the previous name, Tryf/onobatus of Blaiuville, 

 1816, is the next in order of appearance. Aside from the later date, this 



