196 



ON THE ADOPTION OF ROVERETO'S CYPRINIADEA 

 FOR ARCTICA OF SCHUMACHER. 



By K. BULLEN NEWTON. 



(Read before the Sociei}', May 14, 1902). 



In an attempt to revise the generic nomenclature of shells some years 

 since, based on the observance of the "Law of Priority," I directed 

 attention to the fact that Lamarck's Cyprina of 1818 v^^as not retain- 

 able as a conchological name since Schumacher in the previous year 

 had founded the genus Ardica for precisely the same mollusc. A 

 further objection to Cyprina was also referred to, viz. : — its prior 

 employment by Linnaeus for a genus of fish. This revision in favour 

 of Aixtica was well received and has been very generally adopted by 

 most leading writers on systematic mollusca. Now, however, we find 

 that Schumacher's name must be relegated to synonomy on account 

 of its pre-occupation as an Avian genus, by Moehring. For this 

 information we are indebted to Professor Rovereto,' who, some two 

 years ago, foimded the entirely new name of Cypriniadea to replace 

 the Ardica of Schumacher. Moehring's previous use of Ardica has 

 also been very recently alluded to in the "Report of the Committee 

 appointed to draw up a revised List of British Marine Mollusca and 

 Brachiopoda" {Journal of Conchology, 1902, vol. 10, no. 6, p. 181). 

 In this report the Committee, evidently without a knowledge of 

 Rovereto's work, recommended Cyprina for adoption, an arrangement 

 which seems to be opposed to the rules of zoological nomenclature. 

 We gladly welcome, therefore, the new generic name of Cypriniadea 

 for Venus islandica and its allies. 



This result may be more clearly expressed as follows: — 



Genus CYPRINIADEA, G. Rovereto, 1900. 



lUustr. Moll. Tongriani, Atti R. Univ. Genova, 1900, vol. 15, p. 96, 



[Type=^ Venus islandica Gmelin]. 



Cyprina, Lamarck, 18 12. 



Extrait Cours Zool., 181 2, p. 107 (^list name only). 



non Linnaeus, 1758 (Syst. Naturae, 1758, Ed. X., p. 320). 



Arctica, Schumacher, 1817. 



Essai nouv. Syst. Hab. Test., 181 7, p. 145. 



non Moehring, 1758 (Avium Genera, 1752, p. 65; and in Geslachten 



Vogelen, 1758, pp. 5, 53). 



Cyprina, Lamarck, 18 18. 



Hist. Nat. Anim. sans vert., 18 18, vol. 5, [). 556. 



Arctica, R. BuUen Newton, 1891. 



Systematic List F. E. Edwards' Coll. Brit. Oligocene and Eocene Moll., 



British Museum, 1891, pp. ix and 295. 



T An excellent resutnii of this work is given by M. Maurice Cossmann in his "Revue Critique 

 Palcozoologie," 1900, p. 167. 



