8 

 Discovering these problems, Alvarenga (1965) corrected 



them by synonymizing Megischyrus Crotch under Ischyrus 



Chevrolat, designating Erotylus undatus Olivier as the type 



species. For Ischyrus Lacordaire (sensu Crotch) he 



proposed the name Micrischyrus, designating Erotylus 



quadripunctatus Olivier as the type species. In essence, 



he discarded one name, moved another, and proposed a third. 



In my opinion, Alvarenga' s actions were not fully 

 justifiable because they create unnecessary confusion. The 

 main purpose of the International Code of Zoological 

 Nomenclature is to stabilize nomenclature, as stated in its 

 preamble. The code has provisions (Article 7 9) to conserve 

 long-standing, widely accepted names like Megischyrus 

 Crotch and Ischyrus Lacordaire (sensu Crotch) . Therefore, 

 a proposal has been submitted to the International 

 Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (Skelley & Goodrich, 

 in press) to conserve these names by suppressing all uses 

 and indications of the name Ischyrus prior to Ischyrus 

 Lacordaire (1842) . Pending the ruling of the Commission, I 

 am using the name Ischyrus Lacordaire (sensu Crotch) , in 

 preference to Micrischyrus Alvarenga, as the name for the 

 genus studied in this revision. 



Format of Species Accounts 



Title . This heading is the valid name for the species 

 to be discussed. 



Synonymy . This section lists all combinations of the 

 specific name and any synonyms of the valid name. These 



