290 Allen, Strix vs. Aluco. [fuW 



later Strix flammea have done so by making these references the 

 basis of their determination instead of the first reference, to the 

 Faun. Suec, where Linnaeus himself shows unmistakably the species 

 he intended to indicate by the name Strix aluco; and also later (12th 

 ed. Syst. Nat., 1766) by making these same references to Willough- 

 by, Ray, and Albin the principal basis of his S. flammea, and 

 restricting Strix aluco to No. 48 of the Fauna Suecica. 



As Strix flammea proves untenable as the t^-pe of Strix, and as 

 Strix aluco, 1758, is not an earlier name, in any proper sense, for 

 S. flammea, Avhat then is the tvpe of Stiixl As Strix was not 

 monotypic, and the type was not indicated by the author, the 

 determination of the t}^3e necessarily depends upon the action of 

 some subsequent author, or comes into the category of "Cases in 

 which the generic tA^e is not accepted solely upon the basis of the 

 original publication." ^ 



The first author to divide the Linnsean genus Strix was Brisson, 

 who in 1760,^ separated it into two genera, Asio and Strix. The 

 type of Asio is Asio asio Brisson (= Strix otus Linn.), and the type 

 of Strix is Strix strix Brisson (= Strix aluco et stridula Linn.), on 

 the principle of tautonomy. The type of Strix, on the basis of fur- 

 ther 'subsequent designation,' is also "Strix aluco Linn. ed. 10," on 

 the basis of the A. O. L^. Check-List (1886), although the species 

 was there evidently misidentified. Thus Strix will replace Syr- 

 nium Savigny, 1809 (type, Syrnium ululans Savigny = Strix aluco 

 Linn.). 



A substitute for Strix, in its currently accepted sense, is found in 

 Aluco Fleming, 1822, with Strix flammeus Fleming^ (= Strix 

 aluco Linn.) as type by original designation, as long ago maintained 

 by Newton (1874-1894) and Coues (1884-1900). 



It hence follows that the family name Strigidse must be trans- 

 ferred to replace Bubonidae, as was done by Coues in 1884; while 

 the curr nt family name Strigidfe must be replaced by Aluconidse 

 Coues, 1884 (= subfamily Alucinse Newton, 1894). 



Since the name flammea Linn., 1766, is preoccupied by Strix 

 flammea Pontoppidan, 1764, for the Short-eared Owl (Strix accip- 



1 International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, Art. 30, adopted August, 1907. 



■« Orn., I, 1760, pp. 28, 477, 492. 



3 Fleming, Philos. Zool., II, 1822, p. 236. 



