350 Mr. O. Thomas on the Types of the 



XXXVE. — The Types of the Mammals described by 

 M. Fernand Lataste. By Oldfield THOMAS. 



(Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) 



By a most liberal-minded act of generosity M. Fernand 

 Lataste, whose papers on Algerian and other mammals have 

 made his name well known to all workers on the subject, has 

 recently presented the whole of his fine collection of mammals 

 and reptiles to the British Museum — a most valuable and 

 highly appreciated accession. 



In the collection there are the original specimens of practi- 

 cally all the species described by Lataste ; but it was not the 

 habit of workers at the date he wrote to particularize their 

 type-specimens, and many — in fact, the majority — of the 

 species are represented by numerous examples, often from 

 different localities, and sometimes by individuals which have 

 been kept alive in Paris and bred there ; so that their 

 descendants have in some cases been distributed as representing 

 the species described. 



Under these circumstances, both for the clearing" up of any 

 questions that might arise as to types and to facilitate the 

 incorporation of the more important wild-killed individuals in 

 the Museum collection, I have thought it wise to give a list 

 of the species described by Lataste, to give the catalogue and 

 register numbers of the types when these are single, and, 

 when they are multiple, formally to nominate lectotypes for 

 each species from the original series. 



The collection being accompanied by an admirable and 

 complete numbered catalogue, we have accepted the numbers 

 of that catalogue as the Museum register numbers, the usual 

 year, month, and day numbers 19. 7. 7. being placed in front 

 of them. Thus, Lataste' s no. 1234 now becomes B.iM. 

 no. 19. 7. 7. 1234. Reference to the catalogue is thereby 

 facilitated, while the additional labelling required is reduced 

 to a minimum. 



Vesperuyo (Vesperus) innesi, Lat. (now JSjttesicus innesi). 



Ami. Mus. Genov* (2) iv. p. 625 (1887). Hab. Cairo. 



Based on two specimens, $ and $ , in spirit. 

 Lectoiype. Female, B.M. no. 19. 7. 7. 3528. Lectopara- 

 type, the mule, now in the Genoa Museum. 



