786 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XII. No. 308. 



the author, the first species referred to the 

 genus by the author or by any subsequent 

 •writer ought to be taken as the type. This 

 would ensure fixity. It has no element of 

 injustice. . The genus should stand or fall 

 on the first species mentioned. 



As Mr. Cook observes : " The selection of 

 the first species as the type would result in 

 no complications by reason of the Linnsean 

 arrangement of species, and it may be con- 

 fidently expected that the uniform applica- 

 tion of such a rule would necessitate far 

 fewer changes than would the method of 

 elimination whereby the doubtful or un- 

 identifiable species are often the only 

 residue on which time-honored names 

 could be maintained." 



The practicability of this rule must be 

 tested by different taxonomists, each by its 

 efiects in his own field of work. In ichthy- 

 ology it would bring an enormous gain in 

 giving fixity of generic nomenclature which 

 can be attained in no other way. The 

 process of elimination has never been con- 

 sistently followed, nor can the process be 

 so defined that it can j'ield fixed results in 

 the case of the complex genera of the last 

 century. The practice of taking the first 

 species named as the generic type has been 

 adopted and continuously followed by the 

 most voluminous writer on fishes. Dr. 

 Pieter van Bleeker, and others have used 

 it as a guide in cases of doubt. 



The really strong and perhaps conclusive 

 argument against it is derived from its ef- 

 fect on the genera of Linneeus. In general, 

 Linnaeus placed his central species or type 

 in the midst of a genus, leaving the aber- 

 rant species at either end of the list. 

 Cavier followed the plan of giving a full 

 description of a type species or ' chef de 

 file,' letting the less known or less im- 

 portant species follow after it. It was not 

 until about the beginning of the nineteenth 

 century that the thought of a type species 

 came to be associated with the genus. 



Should we adopt the ' first species type ' 

 rule in relation to genera, the following 

 changes would result from its application 

 to the tenth edition of the Systema Naturae. 



Baja would be transferred to Tetronarce (Torpedo). 



Squalus would remain with Acanihias. 



Oadus would replace Melanogrammus. 



EcTieneia would replace Bemora. 



CuUus would replace Agonus. 



Zeus would replace Selene. 



Pleuronectes would replace Achirus. 



Chastodon would replace Zanclus. 



Labfus would replace Sparisoma. 



Trigla would replace Peristethus. 



Cobiiis would replace Anableps. 



Silurus would replace Parasilurus. 



Esox would replace Spyrsena. 



Polynemus would replace Pentanemus. 



Cyprimis would replace Barbus. 



Osiradon would replace Lactophryt. 



Tetraodon would replace Spheroides. 



Diodon would replace ChUomycterm. 



Syngnailma would replace Typhle. 



Mio-seaa, Blennius, Gobius, Spai-us, Scisena, Perca, 

 Oasterosteus, Salmo, and Clupea would be unchanged. 



These changes in time-honored names are 

 apparently out of the question. In ichthy- 

 ology the rule, if adopted, must pass by 

 Linnaeus to take effect with his successors 

 or perhaps only among writers of this cen- 

 tury influenced by the Cuvierian ' chef de 

 file ' method or by the modern conception 

 of type. 



The possibility of this suggestion is worth 

 considering. It is stated on high authority, 

 though I have not yet verified the quota- 

 tion, that Linnaeus somewhere says in effect 

 that the real type of each genus recognized 

 by him is ' the best known European or 

 ofiicinal species contained in it.' It would 

 be relatively easy to determine the species 

 worthy of this distinction. It would be 

 easy to put ourselves in Linnaeus' place in 

 this regard. Then taking the Systema Na- 

 turae as a starting point, it would be possible 

 and just to hold each genus of each author, 

 where no type is explicitly indicated, rigidly 

 to the first species named under it. By 

 this ruling it would be possible to avoid 



