ApRII. 5, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



375 



MacLeocF concludes! that the less special- 

 ized flowers, as well as insects, prefer the 

 springtime, while the more highly special- 

 ized prefer the latin- months. This antici- 

 pates my statement of the same general 



" result. 



Charles Robertson. 

 Carlixville, Illinois. 



BlilSSOX'S GENERA OF MAMMALS, 17GJ. 

 In 1756 Brisson published, in Paris, the 

 mammal volume of his ' Jieginim Animale in 

 Chmes IX Distribuftnn/ It is a quarto, with 

 the descriptive matter in French and Latin, 

 in parallel columns, and contains a folding 

 table or key on which the generic names 

 are given in proper Latin form. But since 

 the work antedates by two years the 10th 

 edition of Linmeus' Si/-itema Natura-, which 

 l)y common consent is accepted as the start- 

 ing point in Zoological nomenclature, the 

 names cannot be used. Sis years later, how- 

 ever, a second edition of Brisson appeared. 

 It is a rare octavo, wholly in Latin, and was 

 printed at Leyden in 17()2 f. It is of special 

 importance because it falls between the two 

 editions of Linn;eus that are available in 

 Zoological nomenclature (10th Ed., 1758; 

 12th Ed., 1706), and hence may be con- 

 sidered, so far as the genera of mammals ai-e 

 concerned, as a part of the foundation of tlie 

 nomenclature. The specific names are not 

 exclusively binomial and cannot be used, 

 but the generic names given in the keys 

 (pp. 12-13 and 218) are in due Latin form, 

 and are entitled to recognition. 



Although the work was not printed until 

 four years after the 10th edition of Linnjeus, 

 the Gth edition (1748) is the only one quot- 

 ed. Still 25 of the 46 genera given are the 

 same as those published by Linmeus in the 



* 0\-er lie bevruchtiiif; (Ut bloemen in het Kempisch 

 gedeeltc van Vhuinderen. Bot. Jaarboek, VI., 1891. 



t Keftiium .\nimale in Classes IX. Distribntnni 

 . . (}uiMlru|>e(lnni i*t Cetaoeorum . . ..A.I). Bris- 

 8i>n . . . Edit io altera auctior . . . Ln};<Iiini Batavo- 

 rum . . . 1762. 



10th Ed. (1758). Of the remaining 21 , ten 

 are strictly synonymous with and antedated 

 by Linna'an genera, and consequently can- 

 not be used either in a generic or sulj-gen- 

 eric sense. These are : 



Brifwon, 1762. Linnreus, 1758. 



Pholidotus = Manis 



Tardigradus = Bradypus 



Cataphractus = Dasypus 



Hircus = Capra 



Aries = Ovis 



Musaraneus = Sorex 



Prosimia = Lemur 



Pliilandcr = Didelphis 



Cetus = Physeter 



Ceratodon = Monodon 



The remaining eleven are introduced bj^ 

 Brisson for tlie first time and are entitled 

 to recognition. They are: 



Odobenus Glis 



Giraft'a Pteropus 



Tragulus Hyana 



Hydrochcerus Meles 



Tapirus Lutra 



Cuniculus 



Most of these are now in current use, but 

 are attributed to later writei-s, and in 

 several cases wrong species are taken as 

 types. Carrying the date back to 1 762 not 

 onlj' gives them greater stability, but also 

 establishes the types in a satisfactory 

 manner. All but one of the genera take 

 Linmean species for tj-pes, as follows: 



The type of Odobenus is 0. odobenus Bris- 

 son = Phoca rosmaru" Linn., which becomes 

 Odobenus rosrnarus (Linn.) 1758. It thus 

 seems as if the "Walrus, after oscillating for 

 a century and a half l)etween Odobenus and 

 Trichechus, might fairly claim a permanent 

 abiding place. 



The type of Girafa is G'. girafa Brisson= 

 Cerinis camelopardalis Linn., which becomes 

 Gimffa eamelopardaUx (Linn.) 1758. 



The type of Truf/ulusia T. iiirficu;* Brisson= 

 Capra pyijmea Linn., which becomes Tragulus 

 pygmcus (I.,inn.) 1758. 



