1915 J Recent Literature. 375 



ducks, geese and swans. The author's conclusions are the same as those he 

 reached on a previous occasion, being those held by " the most eminent 

 ornithologists and avian taxonomers of the Old World " — that Dendro- 

 cygna belongs with the ducks and not with the swans or geese with which 

 the A. O. U. Check-List associates the genus. Dr. Shufeldt's criticism of 

 the classification of the latter work shows that he has not read the preface 

 where the reasons for maintaining the original sequence of groups are given. 

 A " Check-List " need not be a " Phylogenetic System " and the A. O. U. 

 Committee clearly states that the sequence followed does not represent 

 present day classification. No less than 14 double page half-tone plates of 

 the osteology of Dendrocygna and allied genera are used in illustration of 

 Dr. Shufeldt's paper as well as two crude colored plates of tree ducks. — ■ 

 W. S. 



Shufeldt on Fossil Birds in the Marsh Collection. 1 — In this paper 

 Dr. Shufeldt presents the results of his studies of the avian fossils in the 

 Marsh collection in the Yale University Museum and certain of Marsh's 

 types of fossil birds in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 

 Prof. Marsh left much material unidentified and from this Dr. Shufeldt 

 has described a number of new forms, viz: Telmatornis rex (p. 27), 

 New Jersey Cretaceous; Botauroides (gen. nov.) parvus (p. 33), Eoceomis 

 (gen. nov.) ardetta (p. 39), Falco falconella (p. 40), and Grus marshi (p. 

 41), all from the Eocene of Wyoming; Colymbus oligoceanus (p. 54), 

 Larus pristinus (p. 54), Limicolavis pluvianella (p. 55), and Phalacrocorax 

 marinavis (p. 56) from the Oligocene (?) of Oregon; P. mediterraneus 

 (p. 58) and Phasianus americanus (p. 58) from the Oligocene of Colorado 

 and Oregon respectively; P. mioceanus (p. 60), Nebraska Miocene, Sula 

 atlantica (p. 62), New Jersey Miocene, Tympanuchus lulli (p. 69), Post- 

 pliocene of New Jersey; Colinus eatoni (p. 70), Kansas, Gavia pusilla 

 (p. 70), Wyoming (?), Phasianus alphildce (p. 71), Wyoming, the last 

 three with no horizon recorded. A new genus Minerva (p. 43) is pro- 

 posed for Aquila antiqua. 



Dr. Shufeldt has added materially to the list of North American fossil 

 birds, but there are two nomenclatural points in his valuable paper that 

 call for comment. One is the naming " provisionally " a species Colymbus 

 oligoceanus. After the numerous discussions of rules of nomenclature 

 that have been going on of late years we thought that one point was pretty 

 generally understood, i. e. that it was impossible to name a species pro- 

 visionally. A name once published stands or falls on the original diagnosis 

 no matter how poor or incomplete it may be. Another species is called by 

 Dr. Shufeldt Phasianus americanus, but this name has been previously 

 used by Audubon (Orn. Biog. V, p. 335, 1839). The name was proposed 

 for a bird seen and described by J. K. Townsend; what it was it is diffi- 



1 Fossil Birds in the Marsh Collection of Yale University. By R. W. Shufeldt. 

 Trans. Conn. Acad. Arts and Sciences, Vol. 19, pp. 1-110. February, 1915. 



