277 



JOURNAL OF CONCHOLOGY. 



Vol. i6. JUNE, 1922. No. 9. 



NOTES ON THE NOMENCLATURE OF HYGROMIA, 

 HELICELLA, Etc. 



By HUGH WATSON, M.A. 



(Read before the Society, February ist, 1922). 



In October, 1921, Messrs. Gude and Woodward published an 

 article "On Heliceila, Ferussac,"^ in which they advocate a number 

 of drastic changes in the names of familiar genera and subgenera of 

 snails. While deploring the necessity for making these changes, they 

 appear to think that they must be adopted if the International Rules 

 of Nomenclature are to be strictly followed. Two months later, how- 

 ever, the same authors stated that three of the changes which they 

 had proposed were incorrect, and they amended them accordingly.^ 



The following brief notes are intended to show that even after 

 these emendations have been made most of the suggested changes in 

 the names of those groups which occur in England are not in 

 accordance with the current Rules and Recommendations of the 

 International Code, and therefore, in the present state of our 

 knowledge, they ought not to be adopted by any one who holds the 

 view that changes of names should not be made unless they are 

 required by the International Rules. 



Hygromia Risso. 



This name, which was first published in 1826,^ is discarded by 

 Gude and Woodward in favour of Fruticicola Held, 1837, because 

 they say that it had "been already employed by Schrank in 1803 for 

 Vermes, and is consequently not available." But Schrank named his 

 tape-worm Hygroma not Hygroinia ; and under Article 36 of the 

 International Rules, while- we are recommended " to avoid the 

 introduction of new generic names which differ from generic names 

 already in use only in termination or in a slight variation in spelling 

 which might lead to confusion," it is definitely stated that "when 

 once introduced, such names are not to be rejected on this account. 

 Examples: Fiats, Pica ;" etc. This is confirmed by Opinion 25, 

 which shows that two names differing from each other only in the 

 presence or absence of an / are both valid. It is clear, therefore, 



1 Proc. Malac. Soc. . vol. xiv, p. 174. 



2 An. Mag. Nat Hist-, gih ser., vol. viii, p. 624. 



3 For the sake of brevity detailed references already given by Gude and Woodward will not 

 usually be repeated in this paper. 



R 



