CONSTRUCTION OF SYSTEMATIC NAMES IN PALAEONTOLOGY. ix 



which a naturalist is bound to acquaint himself with before he tries his skill in coining 

 zoological terms. One of the chief of these rules is, that in compounding words; all the 

 radical or essential parts of the constituent members must be retained, and nO; change 

 made except in the variable terminations. But several generic names have ))een lately 

 introduced which run counter to this rule, and form most unsightly objects to all who are 

 conversant with the spirit of the Latin language. A name made up of the iirst half of 

 one word, and the last half of another, is as deformed a monster in nomenclature as a 

 mermaid or a centaur would be in zoology ; yet we find examples in the names Corcorax, 

 (from Conus and Fyrrhocorax), Cypmagra (from Cypselu^ and Tanagra), Mendaxu (Merida 

 and Lynallaida), Loxigilla (from Loxia and Fringilla), etc. In other cases, when the com- 

 mencement of both the simple words is retained in the compound, a fault is still committed 

 by cutting ofT too much of the radical and vital portions, as is the case in Bucorvus (from 

 Buceros and Corvus), Ninox {Nisus and Noctua), etc. 



I. Adjective generic names. — The names of genera are, in all cases, essentially substan- 

 tive, and hence adjective terms can not be employed for them without doing violence to 

 grammar. The generic names of Hians, Criniger, Cunorius, Nitidula, etc., are examples of 

 this incorrect usa^e. — Recommendations. 



If a writer is unable to coin such a generic term without falling into 

 these or other errors, it would be wise to abandon the attempt and form 

 one in another manner. 



KTJLES FOR THE FOEMATION OF NEW NAMES IN PALffiONTOLOGT. 



a. Gender of generic terms. — A generic name should always be of 

 that gender which the laws of the language from which it is taken 

 demand. Definite rules cannot well be laid down, because the practice 

 of various languages diifers on this point. In general, where no change 

 is made in the termination of the word which forms the end of a new 

 name, the gender of that word will determine that of the name. Thus, 

 the words, stoma, a mouth, and ceras, a horn, are both, in Greek, of the 

 neuter gender; and, consequently, all the many compounds ending with 

 these words, such as Orthoceras, Platystoma, etc., must be of that gender 

 also, and have corresponding specific adjective terms. If the first 

 founder of a genus were to take the pains to ascertain the right gender 

 of his new name, and make his adjective terms accordingly, many errors 

 would be avoided, for subsequent authors, apparently without a thought, 

 in establishing a new species, coin a specific name of the same gender as 

 that originally published, and thus perpetuate and increase error. For 

 example, the word desma., a bond, like almost all Greek words ending in 

 ma, is of the neuter gender; and yet, in a work standing so high as 

 Woodward's Mollusca, we find Lyrodesma plana, followed shortly after- 

 wards by Coohlodesma praetenue. 



h. Gender of specifiG terms.— Eyeiy specific name must agree in 

 gender with that of the genus to which it belongs; and yet, owing to the 

 above and several other causes, this rule is incessantly overlooked or 

 violated, even by writers whose classical attainments are beyond doubt. 

 In few, if any, large genera do we fail to find two, if not all, the three 

 genders among the specific names. For instance, in the genus Eecepta- 

 culites we have Receptaculites fungosum, R.glolulare, B. formosus, R. 



