Vol. seal Recent Literature. I 03 
1897 ‘ 
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 XIIth instead of the 
Xth edition of Linnzus’s ‘Systema Nature’ as the starting-point for the 
law of priority, in opposition to the views of nearly all zodlogists except 
Sharpe and a few of his British confréres. But we can hardly understand 
why, after accepting jacana as rightfully superceding Parra, be should 
continue to call the family Parridz, in contravention even of the British 
Association Code. The genus Asarcéa is proposed for jacana spinosa 
(Linn., 1758), and the specific name vardabzl’s (Linn., 1766) is adopted 
for the species. The generic name Hydrophasianus is replaced by the 
new term Hydrophasizs, without any word of explanation or apparent 
reason. 
Among the Charadriide proper, full generic rank is given to Oxyechus, 
Ochthodromus, E@gialeus, and Podasocys, as well as to Sguatarola. 
Among the Tringez we have as full genera Helodromas, Limonites, Het- 
eropygia, Arquatella Ancylochilus, Pelidna, Rhyacophilus, etc., while 
Tringoides takes the place of Aczet7s. As regards the status of species and 
subspecies which enter the North American fauna, Charadrius dominicus 
Julvus is considered not entitled to recognition ; Macrorhamphus scolopa- 
ceus, Ereunetes occtdentalis, and Symphemia semtpalmata tnornata, are 
also relegated to synonymy, Totanus solitarius cinnamomeus 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 by many of his British and continental 
fellow workers. 
Respecting #gzalitis meloda circumcincta, Mr. Sharpe sees no reason 
for considering it otherwise than as merely‘very old birds of 4. meloda. 
Tringa couesi and T. ptilocnemis are both made subspecies of A. maritima, 
in the text, but in the Systematic Index 7. Atzlocnemzs is enumerated as a 
full species. ZTringa (Pelidna) americana (Cass.) (=facitfica Coues) 
stands as a full species, under Cassin’s name, although the name 
americana Cassin (1858) is preoccupied by a Trzxga americana Brehm 
(1855) applied to another species. 
In the matter of specific names of North American birds, we have 
Limosa hudsonica instead of L. hemastica, and Phalaropus hyperboreus 
in place of P. lobatus, on the basis of the XIIth vs. the Xth edition of 
Linneus. In respect to the latter, he says the name doéatus ‘‘ is taken 
from the tenth (1758) edition of the ‘Systema Nature,’ and it is also the 
Tringa lobata of the twelfth edition. Here, however, is given the name 
