1 1>4 



NATURE 



[April 17, 1913 



extending even to species in some cases, between 

 fresh-water sponges, Hydrozoa (Limnocnida), and 

 Polyzoa of India and of tropical Africa. In some 

 instances this affinity extended to South America. 

 The same phenomenon existed in other groups, 

 and indicated former land connection. So far as 

 the invertebrates were concerned, there was little 

 evidence of any African element in the aquatic 

 fauna of the Jordan valley, although many African 

 fishes are found in that district. The difference 

 between the African element in the fresh-water 

 fauna of India and that in the fresh-water fauna 

 of Palestine is probably due to the fact that the 

 geographical connection was broken at a compara- 

 tively early date in the case of India, and that the 

 i limate and the composition of the water of the 

 Jordan at present differ greatly from those both of 

 India and Africa. Captain R. B. Seymour Sewell, 

 [.M.S., surgeon-naturalist to the Indian Marine 

 Survey, gave a communication on the post- 

 larval development of the Copepoda. The collec- 

 tions on which these observations were based 

 were from three estuarine regions on the coast of 

 Burma and Bengal. In their post-larval develop- 

 ment the Copepoda follow Brooks's law, and under 

 suitable conditions apparently may be dimorphic 

 in both sexes, thus resembling Amphipoda and 

 Ostracoda. 



Prof. Route, of Paris, described a new species 

 of abyssal fish, to which very great interest is 

 attached, because it was captured by the Prince 

 of Monaco in the great depth of 6035 metres, a 

 depth in which no fish had previously been caught. 

 Prof. V. Dahlgren, of Princeton, gave an account 

 of his recent researches in a remarkable polarity 

 in the motor nerve cells of the electrical apparatus 

 of Tetronarce occidentalis. Prof. Th. Mortensen, 

 of Copenhagen, described a new genus and species 

 of a sessile Ctenophore, upon which Prof. Ziegler, 

 of Stuttgart, made some important comments. 

 Miss Foot and Miss Strobell, of New York, 

 showed the results of crossing three Hemiptera 

 species with reference to the inheritance of an 

 exclusively male character. Prof. J. Petersen, of 

 Copenhagen, gave a paper entitled "Determina- 

 tion of the Quantities of Animal Life in the Sea : 

 its Communities and their Geographical Value." 

 Prof. C. Wardell Stiles, of Washington, gave an 

 account of the distribution of Nector americanus 

 in the United States, its medical and economic 

 importance, and the campaign for its eradication. 

 This formed one of a series of important papers 

 on applied zoology. 



Dr. Jacques Liouville, of Paris, emphasised the 

 importance of constructing a faunistic chart of 

 the artarctic regions, especially in relation to the 

 continental shelf. His suggestion was specially 

 supported by Prof. J. Arthur Thomson, who 

 thought Dr. Liouville should be thanked for 

 taking the initiative in this matter. Mr. Heron- 

 Allen and Dr. Bruce also supported the sugges- 

 tion. Dr. Liouville suggested taking up the 

 French section, and Dr. Bruce agreed to take the 

 Scottish section, suggesting that others should 

 similarly be asked to join, and further that the 

 NO. 2268, VOL. 91] 



president of the congress should be asked for hit. 

 patronage, and also be requested to allow the 

 publication of the chart to appear in his publica- 

 tions. This was afterwards further approved of 

 in the general section. 



M. Henri Bouree gave two kinematograph and 

 colour photograph lantern demonstrations, illus- 

 trating the work of the Prince and his staff on 

 board the Princesse Alice. The series of pictures 

 is excellent in every respect, the colour pictures 

 of animals being exquisite, and the kinemato- 

 graph pictures showing sounding, trawling, fish- 

 ing, and whaling operations being most instruc- 

 tive. 



The subject of zoological nomenclature played 

 a large part in the proceedings. It had been 

 feared that there might be a battle royal between 

 the advocates and opponents of the law of priority, 

 carried out to the bitter end, but happily pre- 

 liminary discussions of a more or less informal 

 kind led to the adoption of a via media. A resolu- 

 tion was adopted which empowered the nomencla- 

 ture commission to suspend the rules in cases 

 where it would cause great confusion to carry 

 them out. This power is, however, safeguarded 

 by such stringent conditions that there is no fear 

 of its being used except in' very urgent cases. 

 Prof. Brauer opened the discussion on nomencla- 

 ture, presenting the well-known views of the 

 German Zoological Society, and was fol- 

 lowed by the Hon. Walter Rothschild and Dr. 

 Hartert, of Tring, M. Oberthur, of Rennes, 

 Prof. E. Ziegler, of Stuttgart, Prof. S. W. Willis- 

 ton, of Chicago, Prof. Fauvel, of Angers, Prof. 

 Th. Mortensen, of Copenhagen, Lord Walsing- 

 ham, of the British Museum, Dr. Hoyle, of 

 Cardiff, Dr. J. A. Allen, of New York, and Dr. 

 Ch. Wardell Stiles, of Washington, the secretary 

 of the permanent committee. 



In proposing a resolution "That an inter- 

 national commission on entomological nomencla- 

 ture be appointed, whose powers and authority 

 shall be equal to those of the existing com- 

 mission on zoological nomenclature, and who shall 

 report their decisions and recommendations 

 annually to the Zoological Congress," Lord Wal- 

 singham emphasised that the principal object of 

 zoological nomenclature was to give to all zoolo- 

 gists the means of acquiring and imparting in- 

 formation about the subjects of their studies. The 

 aim should be to establish an accepted system 

 ensuring simplicity and finality in nomenclature. 

 This had to be attained on the basis of the law of 

 priority. He supported Dr. Ernst Hartert against 

 certain proposals put forward by the German 

 Zoological Society which, if adopted, would be 

 fatal to any attempt to obtain uniformity or 

 finality in nomenclature. The first principles of the 

 law of priority must be adhered to. Let revision 

 be gradual, and proceed on well-considered lines, 

 subject to the final authority of the International 

 Zoological Congress, acting on the recom- 

 mendations of its two equal commissions 

 — that of general zoology and that of ento- 

 mology. , 



