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Psyche 
[June 
mens might not seem very obvious; but when the number 
of species rises to hundreds of thousands and possibly mil- 
lions, then the need for some standard of reference for 
each species becomes very plain. So the older workers, who 
did not realize the enormous number of species of insects 
with which taxonomy would have to deal, had not come to 
feel the need of types, and to argue that since the older 
workers did not designate type specimens, we should not 
do so today, is to argue that the taxonomy of a hundred, 
or one hundred and fifty years ago is good enough for us, 
that progress and advancement in technique and analysis 
is undesirable in the field of taxonomic research. No taxo- 
nomist who is seriously interested in the improvement and 
advancement of taxonomic work would ever be tempted to 
adopt such a principle. 
(2). The establishment of species on the basis of types 
is opposed to the rules of nomenclature. First it should be 
pointed out that the rules of nomenclature are not con- 
cerned with the establishment of species, but only with the 
names of species, subspecies, genera and other categories 
in use in the field of zoology. If by this statement Professor 
Strand means an attempt to establish a specific name on 
the basis of a museum specimen only, then he is quite 
correct and is supported in his contention by Opinion one, 
of the International Commission on Zoological Nomencla- 
ture, which states that in no case is the w T ord “indication” 
to be construed as including museum specimens. If, how- 
ever, he means that in an attempt to decide the identity of 
a species with a valid specific name, the use of, or designa- 
tion of, a type specimen to solve the problem, is opposed to 
the International Rules, then he most certainly is incorrect, 
since the International Commission has ruled on that point 
in Opinion seventy-eight regarding the validity and identity 
of the names of two ticks. The validity of the names was 
decided on the basis of the first properly published descrip- 
tion or indication, while the identity of each was decided 
on the basis of type specimens, which in both cases were 
designated some time after the first publication of the 
names. 
