Decembeb 14:, 190G.] 



SCIENCE. 



775 



is settled independently for each genus, the 

 result does not depend upon the jGLxing of the 

 type of some other genus." Again he says: 

 " That we have in the ' first species ' rule a 

 method that can lead to but one result and 

 can be practised by any one, and by which 

 the type of a genus can be ascertained at once 

 by consulting one reference, instead of in- 

 volving the examination of many works and 

 the expenditure of much time and thought." 



Unfortunately, this method is not always so 

 simple and direct as here stated, as the cita- 

 tion of a single instance from among many 

 will show. The case of the Linnsean genus 

 Yultur, I find, has given a correspondent of 

 mine some trouble in trying to determine the 

 type by the ' elimination ' method, and in 

 despair he fell back on the ' first species ' prin- 

 ciple as the only way out of the difficulty open 

 to him. This case will also show that an 

 intimate knowledge of the literature of the 

 subject is sometimes necessary, and that more 

 than * one reference ' must be consulted even 

 under the ' first species ' rule. Vultur is also 

 a genus the currently accepted type of which 

 must be changed in any event, whether the 

 * first species ' or the ' elimination ' method be 

 employed. 



Vuliur^ as originally established, contained 

 six species, each of which, in the course of 

 time, became, from the standpoint of current 

 nomenclature, the type of a distinct genus, 

 leaving no species in the original genus Vul- 

 tur. The species now currently recognized as 

 the type was not described till eight years 

 after the genus was founded, and hence under 

 all codes is inadmissible as its type. The 

 species originally included in Vultur are: 



1. gryphus, 4. aura, 



2. harpyja, 5. harhatus, 



3. papa, 6. percnopteru^. 

 They were removed to other genera in the 

 following order: 



1784, harhatus, as type and only species of 

 Gypaetus Storr. 



1806, gryphus and papa to 8arcorhamphus 

 Dumeril. 



1808, percnopterus, as type and only species 

 of Neophron Savigny. 



« Linnaeus, ' Syst. Nat,,' 10th ed., 1758, p. 86. 



1811, papa and aura to Carthartes Illiger. 



1816, papa and gryphus to Gypagus Vieil- 

 lot. 



1816, harpyja, as type and only species of 

 Harpia Illiger (preoccupied), vice Thrassaetus 

 Gray, 1840. 



Of the genera formed from Vultur three — 

 Gypaetus, Neophron, and Harpia — were orig- 

 inally monotypic and require at this point no 

 further consideration. Sarcorhamphv^ con- 

 sisted originally of three species, indicated by 

 vernacular names, namely: 



1. Le condor = V. gryphus Linn. 



2. Le papa = V. papa Linn. 



3. Le ouricou = V. auricularis Daudin, 

 1800. 



Carthartes originally contained two species : 



1. V. papa Linn. 



2. V. aura Linn. 



Taking the ' first species ' rule, and the as- 

 surance that * It is necessary to consult only 

 the original reference to ascertain the type 

 of the genus,' we arrive at the following re- 

 sults: 



The type of Vultur must be gryphus, the 

 first species. 



The type of Sarcorhamphus must be gry- 

 phus, the first species; Sarcorhamphus thus 

 becomes a synonym of Vultur, it having the 

 same type. 



The type of Cathartes must be papa, the 

 first species. 



The type of Gypagus must be papa, the first 

 species; Gypagus thus becomes a synonym of 

 Cathartes, it having the same type. 



Taking all the species involved in the case 

 of Vultur, the nomenclature resulting from 

 the application of the first species rule, com- 

 pares with that now current, as follows: 



First Species Rule. 

 Vultur gryphus, 

 Cathartes papa, 

 (Enops aura, 

 2Egypius monachus, 

 Otogypus auricularis, 



Current Names. 

 Sarcorhamphus gryphus. 

 Gypagus papa. 

 Cathartes aura. 

 Vultur monachus. 

 Otogyps auricularis. 



By this method two genera are reduced to 

 synonymy and the generic designation is 

 changed for four species. 



Under the principle of elimination the case 

 works out as follows: 



