342 Prof. F. J. Bell on British OiMurids. 



have not been successful in determining the SjDecies of Crus- 

 tacea described by Viviani in the pamphlet just alluded to. 



5. What is the Correct Specijic Name of the ^^ Shetland Argus'''' ? 



To this species Forbes (18-40) applied Linck's pre-Linnean 

 and generic name of Astrophyton scutatura, generic not only 

 because he calls it distinctly " genus," but because he distin- 

 guishes as "species" — " (1) Scuto rotato, ramis similaribus 

 ex mari albo," " (2) Aliud Musei Regii Dresdensis," and 

 " (3) Scuto striato pulvinato, ramis nodosis et frequentibus 

 denticulis asperis ; " it is therefore no more reasonable to 

 write '■'■Astrophyton scutatum (pars), Linck," among the 

 synonyms of a species than it would be to write Asterias 

 (pars), Linnaeus. 



Mr. Lyman calls the species Gorgonocephalus Linclciij 

 applying Miiller and Troschel's specific name (1842). 

 Forbes without a query sign, Lyman with one, quote Asterias 

 caput-niedusce, Linnajus ; the latter refers to the ' Fauna 

 Suecica,' without, however, saying that it is the second edition 

 of that work which he quotes, the former to the ' System a 

 Natura\' 



In neither case does the Linnean description afford any 

 clue to any thing more than the genus, and neither author 

 quotes the much fuller description which is to be found in the 

 'Museum regis Adolphi Frederici ' (1754), p. 95 ; as this 

 appears to be but little known I liave reproduced it in a 

 footnote *. 



Even from this, however, it is impossible to be certain what 

 species Linnasus had before him ; and as he gives the Indian 

 and southern oceans as well as the seas of Norway as the 

 habitat, it seemed to me probable that more than one species, 

 as we understand them, was before him. In this difficulty I 

 turned as usual to the friendly assistance of Prof. Loven, and, 

 also as usual, I got the help I sought ; Prof. Loven tells me 

 that in his opinion the specimen which was before Linnajus 



* " Asterias radiata ; radiis dichotomis. 



^^ Caput Medusce. Rumph. Mus. 41. t. 16. 



" Habitat non tautum in Oceano versus Norvegiam, sed et in australi 

 et Indico. 



'^ Corpus Stella 5-fida, convexa, angulis in radios exeuntibus. Rodii 

 geminati, basi uniti, scabri. I'oramen inter singulos lobos corporis 

 utrinque. ^^ Centrum hispidum supra ore quiuquelido. -Kamj articulati, 

 dicliotomi innumeris dichotomiis, scusini temuores, pedales, sesqui- 

 pedales ; supra, utrinque, serie simplici ex puiictis scabris, 4 s. 5. mucro- 

 nibus." 



