282 Zoological Writings of Rafinesque. 
Zoologie Sicilienne, §c. Containing about three hundred and 
sixty new species, independent of those already published. Un- 
published ? 
1814. Précis des découvertes, Sc. This pamphlet contains 
many descriptions of new animals, commencing with two new 
genera of bats, the first of which he calls Cephalotes, which con- 
tains a new species; and the Vespertilio cephalotes of Pallas, or 
C. Pallasi, Raf. Geoffroy had previously formed a genus Ceph- 
alotes and called this species C. Pallasii. The characters of Geof 
froy’s genus require incisors 4; and Rafinesque’s 2, the number 
in C. Pallasii; which is referred improperly, to his genus. Suill 
Rafinesque’s genus is not new, it having been previously charac- 
terized as a new genus of Illiger, under the name Harpya, which 
name (under the Greek form) has been subsequently applied to a 
genus of birds by Cuvier. Genus ii, Atalapha, Raf. has ° incis- 
ors, and besides a new Sicilian species, he cites the Vespertilio 
Noveboracensis as A. Americana. He says of his species, Nos. 3 
and 4, “j’ai changé Je nom trop court et équivoque de Mus en 
Musculus!” This change is very unexpected from an author 
who has done so much in abbreviating names. Genus iii, a 
Mediterranean cetacean, not noticed by subsequent writers, is 
considered doubtful. Oxypterus, Raf., was by many consid- 
ered an imaginary genus, until a second species was discover- 
ed by Quoy and Gaimard. Sp. 6 and 7, Gerbillus soricinus and 
Talpa cupreata, observed in North America. Of five new species 
of American fish, Centropomus albus, is perhaps the Labrax mu- 
cronatus; C. luteus, Perca flavescens; and Sparus mocasinus, 
Pomotis vulgaris, Cuv.; a Linnean species.* Rafinesqne remarks 
of the Crustacea, that “after the fishes, it is in this class that [ 
have made the most numerous discoveries in Sicily ; of about 
one hundred and eighty species that I have observed here, nearly 
the half are new; they will be all figured and described in my 
Sicilian Plaxology ;” and of the insects, “my discoveries in this 
class are less numerous; I have about twenty new species.” Be- 
sides a hew genus, the species described are four of Lepisma, two 
Acari, a Formica, and two Aphides. We cite these to fortify our 
opinion that Rafinesque had little or no knowledge of Entomolo- 
* Among the Sicilian fish is one named Esox reticulatus, a name subsequently 
applied by Lesueur to a well known Anierican species. 
