The American Midland Naturalist 



PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BY THE UNIVERSITY 

 OF NOTRE DAME, NOTRE DAME, INDIANA. 



VOL. III. MARCH, 1913. NO. 2. 



A Question of Nomenclature. 



{With one Plate.) 



BY S. W. GEISER. 



An unique point of nomenclature may be found in an inaugural 

 thesis presented by Laurent M. Philipsson, at Lund, in Sweden, 

 in 1788. The thesis engages itself in the description of a number 

 of new genera and species of mollusca. Because, chiefly, of a 

 university usage of the day, by which the authorship of all theses 

 defended was referred to the professor under whom the work 

 was done, much confusion has arisen in regard to the one who is to be 

 considered responsible, nomenclatorially, for the new zoological 

 names; and by some authors they are referred to Retzius, the 

 master, while others hold Philipsson, the respondent, as the 

 author. A year ago. Dr. C. W. Stiles pointed out the unique nature 

 of the questions involved in determining the authorship of the 

 thesis, and urged me to furnish a brief of the case, with references, 

 to the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature for 

 an opinion. The following is presented as the evidence as to whom 

 we should consider the authority, according to the International 

 Zoological Code, for the new names contained in the thesis noted. 



Briefly, as may be seen from the facsimile title page herewith 

 presented, the thesis is a natural-history dissertation, on new 

 genera of shells, which was presented at a public examination, 

 10 December, 1788, by Laurent M. Philipsson, under the presi- 

 dency of his master. Professor Regius and Ordinary, A. J. Retzius, 

 M. D., of the University of Lund. It contains iv + 23 small octavo 

 pages. It is dedicated to Baron Frederic von Dalman and to 

 Countess Dalman.^ 



' Sacrae Regiae Majestatis | Magnae Fidei Viro et Cubiculario | Nobil- 

 issimo et Generossissimo I Domino I FRIDERICO a DALMAN I D:no de 



