CH. VI] RULES FOR NOMENCLATURE. Ill 



systematic research should pay attention to the necessary 

 thqugh secondary question of technical description. 



In inventing a new generic or specific name, it is well to 

 adhere to some definite plan as regards the form or termination 

 of the words used. To deal with this subject in detail, or to 

 recapitulate a series of rules as to the best method of con- 

 structing names whether descriptive or personal, would take 

 us beyond the limits of a single chapter. The student should 

 refer for guidance to such recognised rules as those drawn up 

 by the late Mr Strickland and others at the instance of the 

 British Association^. 



It is not infrequently the case that the same generic name 

 has been applied to a fossil and to a recent species. Such a 

 double use of the same term should always be avoided as likely 

 to lead to confusion, and as tending to admit a divorce between 

 botany and palaeobotany. 



In the course of describing a collection of fossil species, 

 various problems are bound to present themselves as regards 

 the best method of dealing with certain generic or specific 

 names. A few general suggestions may prove of use to 

 those who are likely to be confronted with the intricacies of 

 scientific and pseudoscientific terminology. 



In writing the name of a species, it is important to append 

 the name, often in an abbreviated form, of the author who first 

 proposed the accepted specific designation. Stigmaria ficoides 

 Brongn. written in this form records the fact that Brongniart 

 was the author of the specific name ficoides. It means, more- 

 over, that Brongniart not only suggested the name, but that he 

 was the first to give either a figure or a diagnosis of this particular 

 fossil. It is frequently the case that a specific name is proposed 

 for a new species, without either figures or description; such 

 a name is usually regarded as a nomen nudum, and must yield 

 priority to the name which was first accompanied by some 

 description or illustration sufiiciently accurate to afford a means 

 of recognition. A practice which may be recommended on the 

 score of convenience is to write the name of the author of a 



1 Rules for Zoological Nomenclature, drawn up by the late H. E. Strickland, 

 M.A., P.R.S., London, 1878. 



