No. 481] 



NAME OF NECTURUS 



27 



cannot be rejected even bv its author because of inappropriate- 



Although Schneider gave the first description of this form he 

 did not follow the binary system nor did he recognize it as a sepa- 



There can be no question that Rafinesque ('19) was the first 

 to erect and name a new genus to receive this form. 



The specific name tetradactylus given by Lac^pede ('07) cannot 

 hold because it describes a generic character ("4 doigts s^par^s h. 

 tous les 4 pieds") in the new genus Necturus of Rafinesque. 



The description by Barton ('07), is certainly so inaccurate, 

 including his hesitation between three specific names, that his 

 paper can have little weight. 



The first scientific description with the use of a binary nomen- 

 clature is that of Rafinesque ('18). Here the specific name is 

 maculosa. According to Art. 32 of the rules on priority this term 

 could not have been changed by Rafinesque if he had wished to do 

 so. The term maculatus used in his 1819 paper is either an unin- 

 tentional slip on his part or a typographical error. At any rate the 

 use of the term maculosus in his '20 paper, which was published 

 under his immediate direction with opportunity to correct proof, 

 shows that he preferred the original adjective form maculosus to 

 the participial form maculatus. Such is certainly the better gram- 

 matical usage. 



The confusion has arisen from the fact that the first ('18) paper 

 was printed in a rather obscure literary periodical where scientific 

 men were unlikely to see it. Likewise the third paper ('20) was 

 published in an obscure private publication, a serial which did not 

 continue and so was easily lost sight of. The second paper ('19) in 

 which the error occurred was in a prominent scientific journal and 

 thus came to be generally known. 



In the past ten years although many papers have been written 

 on Necturus, two only have, as far as I know, used the correct 

 nomenclature. These are Eycleshymer (:06) and Waite ('97). 



I believe that it is clear from the foreoging that the correct name 

 is Necturus maculosus and I hope that this may come into general 



