472 Notices of Memoirs— Rev. J. F. Blake — Type Fossils. 



4. Many names in common use have a foreign origin, which have 

 not been adopted after actual comparison with the original foreign 

 types. 



5. Palseontological nomenclature consequently still remains 

 burdened with names of uncertain value. 



It is therefore advisable that : 



1. The above-named Committee recognize and register a new class 

 of * types,' which may be either original or adopted, but which satisfy 

 certain conditions laid down to ensure their having a definite value. 



2. A register be published annually of such types, so that an 

 author in using a name may have the option of quoting this 

 register, instead of the original author's name. 



3. This register should give references (1) to the author or 

 authors, and their publications thereupon, who have first satisfied 

 the required conditions; (2) to the museum where the type is 

 deposited. 



4. The limitation of types, registered by the British Association, 

 should have reference to the type-specimens, whatever their origin, 

 which are deposited in museums within the United Kingdom 

 (possibly to be enlarged at a future date to the British Empire). 



5. The Committee should, from time to time, determine the 

 conditions required for registration, but should be in no way 

 responsible for the validity of the ' species ' to which the type 

 may be said to belong, nor for the name under which it is registered, 

 which registration should apply to the 'specific ' name only, and not 

 be affected by its reference later to another genus ; the only care 

 of the Committee, beyond seeing that the required conditions are 

 satisfied, being to secure that identical diagnoses are not registered 

 under different names, and that the same name is not used at 

 different times for different diagnoses. 



The suggested conditions for registration are as follows : — 



1. A single specimen must be selected as the type, but two or 

 more co-types may be admitted, which are identical in all other 

 respects save in the preservation of different necessary characters. 



2. The exact horizon and locality of the specimen thus selected 

 must be known. 



3. All the commonly called ' specific ' characters required, in the 

 class to which it belongs, must be known by the type or by the co- 

 types together, and also described, and also the generic ones when 

 the genus is not obvious. [N.B. — The determination whether this 

 condition is carried out in any particular case will rest with the 

 member of the Committee charged with the class.] 



4. All characters capable of numerical statement, including size, 

 proportion of parts or lines, angle, etc., must be so given. [N.B. — 

 Adequate figures may suffice for this.] 



5. The type-specimen must be permanently placed in a public 

 museum in the United Kingdom. 



N.B. — It is not necessary that the type-specimen in the above 

 sense should be the first anywhere described under the registered 

 name, but only the first that satisfies the above conditions. 



