January 21, 1898.1 



SGIENGE. 



99 



cidentally learned that the only species of 

 Scyllarus known to Fabricius* in 1775, when he 

 first made known that genus, was the S. arctus 

 — the Cancer arctus of Linnseus. That, being 

 the only species, is necessarily the type, and, 

 therefore, the name Scyllarus must be retained 

 for it. The early carcinologists (Latreille, 

 White) correctly recognized the type. Never- 

 theless, the S. arctus was taken as the type of a 

 new genus — Arctus — and the name Scyllarus 

 was reserved for the " Sc. sculptus, latus, 

 sqiiamosus, equinoxialis, Maanii, Sieboldi," by 

 Dana in 1852. He was doubtless influenced 

 in this respect by the consideration that the 

 arctus was the only species of its genus known 

 to him, while most belonged to the other one. 

 All succeeding carcinologists have followed 

 him, and, indeed, the family is one of the very 

 few for which a classification proposed nearly 

 half a century ago has been retained intact to 

 the present time, new species only having been 

 added meanwhile. However, the necessity for 

 a change will be recognized by almost every 

 zoologist, and the sooner it is made the better it 

 will be. I, therefore, propose to restore Scylla- 

 rus to the typical species, and to give the new 

 name Scyllarides {Scyllarus with the Greek pa- 

 tronymic termination -ides) to the bereft genus. 

 Scyllarides may be typified by the S. sequinocti- 

 alis {Scyllarus sequinoctialis of Nicolaus Tender 

 Lund).t 



According to Dr. Ortmann (Zool. Jahrb., 

 Syst., 268, X., 1897), there are five well de- 

 fined species of Scyllarides — squamosus, latus, 

 haani, sequinoctialis and elizahethi. 



Theo. Gill. 



Washington. 



lamaeck and ' a peefecting tendency.' 

 Pkofessoe John Gaedinee has done well to 

 recall the fact that the chief factor in evolution, 



* Systema Entomologise, p. 413, 1775. 



fThe proper authority for the species (generally 

 known as ' 5^. Bsquinoxialis Fabr. ' ) has been given by 

 Miss Eathbun in the Annals of the Institute of Ja- 

 maica (I., 43). The excellent memoir of Lund (Om 

 Slaegten Scyllarus < Skrivter af Naturh. Selskabet, 

 II., p. 17-22, 1793) has been ignored by almost all 

 others. It was referred to by White, hut the references 

 to Lund were mostly given after those to Fabricius. 



according to Lamarck, is not the so-called ' La- 

 marckian factor,' but ' a perfecting tendency.^ 

 Lamarck's Histoire Naturelle is in perfect ac- 

 cord with his Philosophic Zoologique, as inter- 

 preted by Professor Gardiner. Lamarck thus 

 describes his two factors : (1) ' Composition 

 progressive,^ ^progression,^ 'plan de la nature,^ 

 " pouvoir qui tend sans cesse a compliquer I' or- 

 ganisation, d, accroitre le nombre et le perfectionne- 

 ment desfacultis,^' " cause premidre et predomin- 

 ante." (2) " La cause accidentelle n^ ay ant pu 

 altSrer la progression en question, que dans des 

 particularites de detail, et jamais dans la generality 

 des organisations." 



The editors of the second edition of the His- 

 toire Naturelle add a foot-note (Vol. I., p. 114) 

 which concisely states Lamarck's position : 

 "II y a done, d'aprls Lamarck, deux causes 

 toujours agissantes sur les animaux, I'une qui 

 tend a, les perfectionner d'unemaniere uniforme 

 dans leur organisation, I'autre modiflant irrdgu- 

 lierement ces perfectionnements, parcequ'elle 

 agit selon les circonstances locales, fortuites, de 

 temperature, de milieu, de nourriture, etc., 

 dans lesquels les animaux vivent n^cessaire- 

 ment." 



Lamarck repudiates the ' echelle graduee' of 

 Bonnet, and claims there is no identity between 

 it and his ' composition progressive.'' 



C. O. Whitman. 



SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 

 Recent and Coming Eclipses. By Sir Norman 



LocKYEE, K.C.B., F.R.S. Macmillan & Co. 



1897. 



This volume, consisting mainly of articles 

 which have appeared from time to time in cur- 

 rent periodicals, is issued with a view to supply- 

 ing the general reader with information re- 

 garding the latest phases of the chief eclipse 

 problems. 



The treatment divides itself into two parts. 

 The earlier chapters of the work contain ele- 

 mentary explanations of the theory of eclipses, 

 and that of the instruments used in their obser- 

 vation. The spectroscope in its various forms 

 is discussed in detail, and much stress is laid on 

 the efEiciency of the slitless spectroscope or- 

 ' prismatic camera. ' The application of this 



