1-4G Miscellaneous. 



his ' Additameuta ad . . . Klein &c. ' ; but the name Dlseoides was 

 not so endorsed. Oil the contrary, Leske threw Comdus and Dis- 

 coK?es, Klein's two "genera" of Fibula, into a single genus, for 

 which he proposed the name Echini tes *. The sixth species of this 

 was Echinites suhuculus Leske ex Klein. 



The first writer to resuscitate Discoides appears to have been 

 James Parkinson, who in vol. iii. of 'Organic Kemains ' (1811) 

 gave a good account of fossil Echinoids, based upon, but not blindly 

 following, that of Leske. On p. 20 he says, " The second genus of 

 this section is Discoides, the only species of which is subuadus." 



Parkinson has been strangely overlooked, and most writers have 

 taken J. E. Grayf as the authority for the genus, and have 

 supposed themselves to be following him in spelling the name 

 " Discoidea." In Gray's paper, however, the spelling is " Discodea," 

 which may be a misprint for Discoidea, or, as Mr. Alexander 

 Agassiz has supposed, for Discoides, since anything is possible in a 

 paper so full of misprints. As type. Gray quoted Galerites rotidaris, 

 Lamarck's name for Discoides subucidus. The spelling Discoidea 

 seems to have been first used in 1836 by L. Agassiz J, who, under 

 the heading "Discoidea macropyga Agass." (p. 137), wrote: — 

 " M, Gray a judicieusement distingue de nouveau les Galerites a 

 ambulacres etroits, que Klein dcsignait sous le nom de Comdus, et 

 dont le G. vulgaris Lam. est le type, de celles dont les aires ambu- 

 lacraires sonfc sensiblement plus larges, et que Klein appelait 

 Discoidea [sic], pour en faire un genre dont le G. rotidaris Lam. est 

 le type." In his systematic summary of slightly later date (p. 186), 

 under " Les Clypeastres," he placed [Genus] " -1. Discoidea. K1. et 

 Gr. {Comdus Leske. — Echinodiscites V. Ph. — Galerites Lam.)"; 

 then follows the diagnosis and list of species, including " D. 7'otularis 

 Kl. [sic] (Galerites rotul. Lam.)." Therefore those who, for good 

 or bad reason, prefer the form " Discoidea," should write " Discoidea 

 Agassiz (emend. Discodea Gray, err. typ.)." 



But Discoides Parkinson could be rejected only if the name were 

 preoccupied for some other genus. This proves to be the case. 

 L. Agassiz, in his ' Nomenclator,' under Mollusca, quoted " Dis- 

 coides, lieu. , = Pleurobranchus," giving no reference. Writers on 



* Op. cit. p. 171 of original edition, p. 107 of reissue in same year. In 

 Leske's synopsis of his own species and genera, on p. x-saii, this is intro- 

 duced as "Genus 111. Conulus Klein. Echinites mihi." This and the 

 fact that Echinites had already been used by Gesner ('Tract, phys. de 

 Petrif.' p. 34 ; 1758) warrant the adoption of Comdus. The genotype is 

 Comdus, vel Echinites, albo-yalenis Leske ex Klein ; but this is con- 

 generic with Echinites vuhjaris, tlie genotype of Galerites Lamarck 

 (' Anim. sans Vertebres,' p. 316 ; 1801), wliich therefore is a synonym of 

 Co7iulus. Echinocomis A. d'Orbigny ex IJrcyuius, is another synonym. 



t " An Attempt to divide the Echiuida &c.," Ann. Philos. xxvi. p. 429 ; 

 Dec. 1825. Many writers quote " Gray, 1834," but no such paper can 

 he found ; probably they are misled by the words " de nouveau," in the 

 paper by Agassiz quoted below. 



X M6m. Soc. Neuchatel, i. pp. 137 & 186. 



