Vol. XIV-| Recejit Literature. lOX 



1897 J ^ 



treme in his treatment of genera, of which he here not only creates some 

 eight or nine new ones, but elevates to generic rank a very large number 

 of groups heretofore commonly treated as merely subgenera or else wholly 

 ignored. 



As regards matters of nomenclature, we of course expect the continua- 

 tion of the confusion which results from taking the Xllth instead of the 

 Xth edition of Linnteus's ' Systema Nature ' as the starting-point for the 

 law of priority, in opposition to the views of nearly all zoologists except 

 Sharpe and a few of his British confreres. But we can hardly understand 

 why, after accepting /«c««rt as rightfully superceding Parra, he should 

 continue to call the family Parridse, in contravention even of the British 

 Association Code. The genus Asarcia is proposed for Jacana spitiosa 

 (Linn., 1758), and the specific name variabilis (Linn., 1766) is adopted 

 for the species. The generic name Hydrophasianus is replaced by the 

 new term Hydrophasis, without any word of explanation or apparent 

 reason. 



Among the Charadriidte proper, full generic rank is given to Oxyechus, 

 Ockthodromtis, ^^gialeus, and Podasocys, as well as to Squatarola. 

 Among the Tringese we have as full genera Helodromas, Limonites, Het- 

 eropygia, Arquatella Ancylochilus, Pelidna, Rkyacophiltis, etc., while 

 Tritigoides takes the place of Actitis. As regards the status of species and 

 subspecies which enter the North American fauna, Charadriiis dominicus 

 fulvus is considered not entitled to recognition ; Macrorhamphus scolopa- 

 ceus, Breunetes occidentalis, and Symphemia semipalmata inoriiata, are 

 also relegated to synonymy, Totanus solitarius cinnamomeiis Brewster, 

 omitted from the body of the work, is added in the Appendix, where it 

 is given the rank of a full species, but in the Systematic Index it stands 

 as a subspecies. 



If we may judge from Mr. Sharpe's remarks on these and other similar 

 cases, he seems to be as far as ever from grasping the idea underlying 

 subspecies, now so well understood b}' many of his British and continental 

 fellow workers. 



Respecting ^Sgialitis meloda circiiiiicincta, Mr. Sharpe sees no reason 

 for considering it otherwise than as merely very old birds of ^:E. meloda. 

 Tringa coicesi s.y\A T. ptilocnemis are both made subspecies of ^. viaritima, 

 in the text, but in the Systematic Index T. ptilocnemis is enumerated as a 

 full species. Tringa {Pclidfia) americana (Cass.) (^—pacijica Coues) 

 stands as a full species, under Cassin's name, although the name 

 americana Cassin (1858) is preoccupied by a Tringa americana Hrehm 

 (1855) applied to another species. 



In the matter of specific names of North American birds, we have 

 Limosa kudsonica instead of L. kcBmastica, and PJialaropus hyperboreus 

 in place of P. lobatiis, on the basis of the Xllth vs. the Xth edition of 

 Linnaeus. In respect to the latter, he says the naute lobat/es " is taken 

 from the tenth (175S) edition of the ' Systema NaturiE,' and it is also the 

 Tringa lobata of the twelfth edition. Here, however, is given the name 



