”» 
Geology and Natural History. 385 
followed by Mr. ‘foes and, I faite by all American authors,* 
is prejudicial, because it will tempt vain men—and many good 
men are vain, naturalists not the least—to create a host of unn 
cessary new genera or generic denominations, with the evident or 
secret intention to make an easy harvest of rigor, to which their 
practice is clinging to the well-established rule, that the name of 
the author who first established and published a species shall 
remain with it, may the generic ch gree asi be changed or not—a 
rule adopted, T believe, by m f the European authors who 
have paid any attention to this ae question of nomenclature, 
and without exception by all Scandinavian naturalists.t The 
ractice — which I thought it — to — is 
rther only capable of — confusion and loss 
ret enough, Mr. his allies defend their cause 
by ar hat “ cain leedient is a system of exact registra- 
tion ;” aes true, but for the very cause of “exact registration” it 
is absolutely necessary that the ced is referred at once to the 
author who first published the species, and not to him who after- 
different thing in view. I shal give an example that will, 1 hope 
act as an “argumentum ad hominem.” Tf I am right (as I think 
I am) in reducing the new genera, Ophio , Ophiomitra and 
o be 
Ophiacantha vicaria (Lym .), valida (Lym.) and sertata (Lym.), 
“orden ig the reader to consult the works of Mr. Lyman to 
these animals; if, according to Mr. Lyman, they a re written 
hiocnemis eacdotica Ltk., Ophiacant. ‘eieaeha lik, etc., the 
— student will ‘ am et oleum perdere” in finding out 
where in the world Me Liitken had anything to do with these 
* In regard to this point Dr. Liitken is quite mistaken, for Brora American natu- 
ralists cope —— Ae still do, in all case : 3, write the na e of the original de- 
scriber of the species. See for examples rof. Dana * Reports on the Zoéphytes 
_ Saker of the U. S. Exploring Eepeacen, 1846-1852; numerous papers by 
pson; most of the soblopicel publications of the Smithsonian Institution, 
— Prof. Dana’s works, the name of the original describer of the species is 
“aan. in — esis. Others do this when the synonymy is not given m 
: € species.—Eps. 
+ Not all of these, however, age the —s of authority in parenthesis when the 
eric name has been cha anged; Lovén, Sars, i etc., usually add, in bl 
renthesis, the name - the old genus, writing, e.g. Triton ium reticulatum (Pleurot- 
oma) Brown, Ophiactis Balli (Ophiocoma) Tho! etc. 
Am. Jour. Sc1.—Tump Series, VoL. III, No. 17.—Mar, 1872. 
25 
