90 PEOF. r. JEFPEET BELL — CONTEIBUTIONS TO 



It has been a matter of some trouble to trace the history of the name Savaglia i. 

 The first reference which I can find to it is in the " Dell' historia naturale di Ferrante 

 Imperato " ^ published at Naples in 1599 ; on p. 724 of which we read, " Savaglia. La 

 Savaglia e pianta nel ramiggiare, e I'effigie tutta simile a Corallo," &c. ; these words are 

 repeated on p. 632 of the edition of 1672, which was published at Venice. Nearly a 

 century later (in 1755) there were published the " Opere postume " of Giuseppe Ginanni, 

 who takes (p. 17) Savaglia as his type of " quelle Pianze dell' Adriatico, che sono di 

 sostanza legnosa senza foglie." Eleven years later Pallas writes in his notes to Gorgonia 

 Antipathes — " Quae cum Corallio nigro vulgo confunditur et a multis auctoribus pro 

 vero descripta fuit, Savalia Maris Mediterranei, truncus magnorura Ventilabrorum, 

 detritis ramis, politus esse solit" ("Elenchus Zoophytorum,' pp. 194 & 195). 



Up to this time it is clear that the terra had no definite generic or specific significance 

 in the Linnean sense. But some years later (in 1819) A. Bertolini published his 

 'Amoenitates Italicge,' and gave an account oi Savaglia, for which he makes a definite 

 zoological position by calling it Gorgonia savaglia. In 1844 Nardo, in the ' Atti della 

 quinta Unione degli Scienziati italiani,' published (p. 433) a classification of Zoophytes, 

 wherein the portion which interests us runs thus : — 



Fam. IV. Antipatidi. 



Sotto famigiia P Antipatini. — Polipi a sei teutacoli. 



Gen. Anthipatfies, Pall. Gen. Cirripathes, Blainv. 

 S. f. IP Savalini. — Polipi a sedici tentacoli. 

 Gen. Savalia N. 



The new genus is for the Gorgo7iia savoglia [sic] (Bertolini). Nardo does not write 

 out the full name or names of the species to be placed in this new genus, but it is clear 

 that had he done so he would have then written Savaglia savaglia [or Savalia savalia']. 

 This use of a specific for a generic name has been forbidden by the rules of the 

 British Association. 



Meanwhile this species had become famous by the researches of Lacaze-Duthiers, 

 who, conferring on it (in 1864) the generic name of Gerardia, retained for it the specific 

 name of lamarcki given it by Haime (in 1849) when he called it Leiopathes lamarcM. 



Mr. George Brook, in his recently (1889) published 'Challenger' Report, which 

 adds so much to our knowledge of the obscure group of Antipatharia, seems to liave 

 suff"ered from incomplete bibliographical information, for he writes : — " I have not seen 

 the original, and do not know if Nardo gave the species a specific as well as a generic 



' The word is not in any Italian dictionary that I have been able to consult, and my learned colleagues in the 

 Printed Book Department have been unable to throw any light on the origin of the word. Count Salvador! 

 does not know the word, and his learned friend Prof. Lessona is unable to throw any light on its history. 



- I was not assisted in my search by Nardo's exquisite misprint of " Perravite Traparuto ; " but I was 

 greatly aided by the bibliographical knowledge of Mr. Carruthers, F.E.S., on whose patience I made severe 

 demands. 



