282 Zoological Writings of Rafinesque. 



Zoologie Sicilienne, ^c. Containing about three hundred and 

 sixty new species, independent of those already pabHshed. Un- 

 published ? 



1814. Precis des decouveries, Sfc. This pamphlet contains 

 many descriptions of new animals, commencing with two new 

 genera of bats, the first of which he calls Cephalotes, which con- 

 tains a new species; and the Vespertilio cephalotes of Pallas, or 

 C; Pallasi, Raf. Geoffroy had previously formed a genus Ceph- 

 alotes and called this species C. Pallasii. The characters of Geof- 

 froy's genus require incisors | ; and Rafinesque's f , the number 

 in C. Pallasii ; which is referred improperly, to his genus. Still 

 Rafinesque's genus is not new, it having been previously charac- 

 terized as a new genus of Illiger, under the name Harpya, which 

 name (under the Greek form) has been subsequently applied to a 

 genus of birds by Cuvier. Genus ii, Atalapha, Raf has I incis- 

 ors, and besides a new Sicilian species, he cites the Vespertilio 

 Noveboracensis as A. Americana. He says of his species, Nos. 3 

 and 4, "j'ai change le nom trop court et equivoque de Miis en 

 Muscuhis P' This change is very unexpected from an author 

 who has done so much in abbreviating names. Genus iii, a 

 Mediterranean cetacean, not noticed by subsequent writers, is 

 considered doubtful. Oxypterns, Raf., was by many consid- 

 ered an imaginary genus, until a second species was discover- 

 ed by Q,uoy and Gaimard. Sp. 6 and 7, Gerbillus soricinus and 

 Talpa cupreata, observed in North America. Of five new species 

 of American fish, Centropomus albus, is perhaps the Lahrax mu- 

 cronatus; C. luteus, Perca flavescens ; and Sparus mocasinns, 

 Pomotis vulgaris, Cuv. ; a Linnean species.* Rafinesque remarks 

 of the Crvsiacea, that "after the fishes, it is in this class that I 

 have made the most numerous discoveries in Sicily ; of about 

 one hundred and eighty species that I have observed here, nearly 

 the half are new ; they will be all figured and described in my 

 Sicilian Plaxology ;" and of the insects, "my discoveries in this 

 class are less numerous ; T have about twenty new species." Be- 

 sides a new genus, the species described are four of Lepism.a, two 

 Acari, a Formica, and two Aphides. We cite these to fortify our 

 opinion that Rafinesque had little or no knowledge of Entomolo- 



* Among the Sicilian fish is one named Esox reticulatus, a name subsequently 

 applied by Lesueur to a well known American species. 



