Miscellaneous. 383 



that Forbes found he had made a mistake in placing the species in 

 Linckia, and therefore stole Cribrella. But Forbes distinctly gave 

 the reasons for the change. " The name Linlia given it by Nardo 

 must be rejected on account of a genus of plants having been so 

 named previously ; therefore I have adopted Professor Agassiz's 

 proposed appellation " *. Moreover, Agassiz was probably cognizant 

 at the time of what Forbes was doing, and most certainly approved, 

 for he wrote shortly afterwards of Forbes's work, " II circonscrit 

 d'une maniere plus rigoureuse mes genres Uraster et Cribrella " f. 

 So much in defence of one whose " name " I still " revere." 



But should Cribrella, as redefined by Forbes, or Henricia, Gray, 

 be used? Henricia was published Nov. 1, 1840, Cribrella, Forbes, 

 Dec. 1, 1840. The part of Forbes which contains the description 

 of Cribrella contained pages 97-144, and considering the many 

 woodcuts and the way in which that work was brought out must 

 have been printed many mouths before Gray's paper. Under these 

 circumstances I retain the opinion I held in 1865 that Cribrella 

 should be used ; but if others adopt a different course, they cannot 

 be gainsaid. If there is a doubt in law, there can be none in 

 justice, in using Cribrella, and is it not better " quieta non 

 moveri.'' 



1 . Date of Dr. Gray's ''Synopsis.'' 



I cannot understand how it happened that in my 1865 paper I 

 quoted this as 1841 instead of 1840. Others have no doubt copied 

 the wrong date from me. 



2. Hippasteria phrygiana or Goniaster phrygianus. 



In establishing the genus Goniaster Agassiz placed four species in 

 it: — 1. Asterias reticulata, Lmn. ; 2. A. equestris, Linn. J ; 3. A. 

 nodosa, Linn. ; 4. A. tessellata, Lamarck. 



Gray took all these species out of Goniaster and placed them in 

 genera as follows: — 1. Pentaceros reticidatus ; 2. Hippasteria 

 equestris; 3. Pentaceros nodosa (sic); 4. Anthenia tessellata (the 

 type of Lamarck). 



What then became of Goniaster ? Gray placed in it the forms 

 which Lamarck had erroneously considered to be varieties of A, 

 tessellata, but left out the type, which of course Agassiz had in 

 mind. Still more extraordinary, he made his Goniaster exactly 

 conterminous with the genus Pentayonaster of Linck, which name he 

 does not here employ ; but his very next genus is Pentayonaster, 

 Gray, and contains a single species, P. ptdchellas, Gray, of which 

 species Linck knew nothing. 



* Forbes, ' British Starfishes,' p. 101. Vide also " Linckia " in 

 Agassiz's ' Nomenclator Zoologicus ' both under " Echinodermata " and 

 in " Index universalis." 



t Agassiz, Monog. d'Echinod. viv. et foss. liv. 2 (1844), p. 4. 



X Agassiz undoubtedly by this name referred to ihc Asterias phrt/yiann, 

 Parelius. 



