1SS4. StejnbGER, Analccta Ornithologica. 3^^ 



JFringilla carduelis^ the principal reason for this assumption 

 being that Koch mentions carduelis before sfinus. This method 

 of ascertaining the type, however, has been long ago given up, 

 but some few remains of its employment in earlier days still linger, 

 as, for instance, in the present case. 



Looking wholly apart from the probability that Koch, if going 

 to specify the type of his genus Spinus in the same way as we 

 do at the present time, most likely would have chosen Fringilla 

 spimis, the question may be solved satisfactorily by the 'method 

 of elimination.' 



Both carduelis and spimcs^ originally included by Linnaeus in 

 the genus JFringilla (1758) , were moved into the genus Carduelis 

 by Brisson (1760), and afterwards by Schaffer (1789) (^- 'The 

 Auk,' 1S84, P- 145)- Neither of them indicated a type, although 

 it may be safe to assume that J^. carduelis would have been the 

 type of Brisson's Carduelis. In 1816 Koch applied the name 

 Spinus to the same two species plus Acanthis linaria ; as 

 already remarked he did not indicate a type either. Consequently 

 the next author who might choose a type for them was justified 

 in so doing, linaria being out of question as the type of Bech- 

 stein's Acanthis. That was done by Boie, who, in 1822, sepa- 

 rated the two, designating carduelis as the type of the restricted 

 genus Carduelis., while in 1S26 the same author made F. tristis 

 ('u. a.' =und andere — and others — evidently among these includ- 

 ing F. spinus) the type of the restricted genus Spinus. The two 

 genera, therefore, will stand as Carduelis Brisson, restricted 

 and provided with type by Boie, and Spinus Koch, also restrict- 

 ed and provided with type by Boie. 



The synonymy of the genus Spinus may be tabulated thus : 



Genus Spinus* Koch. 



('1760. — Carduelis Brisson, Orn. Ill, p. 53 (type Fr. carduelis Lin.) 

 /1S03. — Acanthis Bechstein, Orn. Tash. Deutschl. p. 125 (type F. 



linaria LiN.) 

 /1816. — Spintes KoCH, Bayr. Zool. (p. 233) (type Fr. spinus Lin.) 

 [=1826. — Spi?ius Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 974.] 



= 1828. — ChrysomilrisBoiE, Isis. 1828, p. 332. (Same type.) 

 /1851. — Astragalinus Cabanis, Mus. Hein. I, p. 159 (type F. tristis 



Lin.) 



* 2mvoS) o. the name of a small bird, as given by Aristopiianes. 



