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IN connection with the preparation of a detailed revision of the Australian Sparidae (Munro, in press), several points regarding the little-known species Chrysophrys cuvieri Day came to notice. The more important matters concern its systematic position and nomenclature. Very little regarding this species has been recorded in the literature, and it seems to have been accepted generally as belonging to the Sparinae section of the Family Sparidae. Smith (1938), when reviewing the genera and species of South African Sparidae, suggested that the correct generic designation of cuvieri would probably be Acanthopagrus Peters. He did not have the opportunity to examine actual specimens and his suggestion was merely surmise. Chrysophrys cuvieri was originally described by Day (1875) from India, the type locality being given as Mangalore on the Malabar coast (vide Fowler, 1933). Bleeker (1878) indicated that Day presented his specimen to the Leiden Museum. However, the Australian Museum, Sydney, has in its possession an old specimen (Reg. No. B 8225) from Madras. This specimen appears to have been obtained from Dr. Francis Day in 1885 and is labelled "Type." Whilst investigating the characters of Acanthopagrus with reference to Australian species, the present writer examined this example of cuvieri and found that it could not be referred to either of the sparid genera Acanthopagrus Peters or Chrysophrys Quoy and Gaimard. The dentition of cuvieri, being essentially raptorial in character, serves to exclude this species from the family Sparidae, the representatives of which have sectorial and tritorial dentition. The combination of dentition and other primary characters, such as can be observed without dissection, place cuvieri in the Denticidae, a former subfamily of the Sparidae, now recognized as a distinct family (vide Smith, 1938). It is interesting to observe that Cuvier and Valenciennes (1830) remarked regarding their Dentex hasta, of which C. cuvieri Day is a synonym, "Nous, croyons donc devoir placer a la suite de nos dentes ce sparoide un peu anomal." They were more nearly correct in placing this form in Dentex Cuvier than Day was in placing it in Chrysophris Cuvier (= Sparus Linnaeus). Although cuvieri is a fairly typical denticid fish, it possesses characters which exclude it from any of the existing genera of the Denticidae. Thus a new genus is herein proposed for its reception. Day (1875), in naming this species Chrysophrys cuvieri, recognized that it was specifically identical with Dentex hasta Valenciennes (Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1830), also described from the Malabar coast. Day (p. 141) recorded that "it is identical with two specimens of Dentex hasta, C. & V. in the Paris Museum." When Day referred this species to Chrysophrys Cuvier (i.e., Chrysophris; not Chrysophrys Quoy and Gaimard), a substitute name for Sparus Linnaeus (vide Munro, in press), he realized that the specific name hasta Valenciennes (1830) was preoccupied in that genus by Sparus hasta

Among the distinctive characters of this genus, the author mentions especially the membranous perithecia lying nearly free in the locules of the stroma, and says the characters of the genus were taken from Hypoxylon nummulariu m Bull., and Sphaeria discreta Schw., " which should be considered the types of the genus." As he specifies two species as types, a choice must be made for nomenclatorial purposes. The first species described is N. Bulliardi based on Hypoxylon nuimnmularium Bull. It is clear from this that he took the generic name from Bulliard's specific name, and as this is the first species described and also represents the group for which Nummularia, when treated as a separate genus, has most generally been used by subsequent writers, it would seem in the interests of uniformity and stability of generic names to apply the name to N. Bulliardi and its congeneric species. If we accept the opinion that this species has no characters sufficient to separate it from Hypoxylon, it would be included as a synonym of that genus. Miller (Trans. Brit. Myc. Soc. 17: 131. 1932) has proposed to take as the type Nummularia discreta (Schw.) Tul. and include Bolinia (Nits.) Sacc., 1882 as a synonym. Of course N. discreta is usually separated from Hypoxylon, but is very clearly closely related to it. Saccardo referred N. discreta to Anthostoma under the name A. discincolum (Schw.), but this could scarcely be considered congeneric with any of the species originally included in Anthostoma by its author. The perithecia in N. Bulliardi are in a single series and a similar epistromatic conidial layer precedes the formation of the entostromatic perithecia in both species. It therefore seems that a natural grouping of species would require

That part of the large cosmopolitan genus Hoplothrips to which the present species belongs, because of the great disparity between the different forms of both the female and male, and the large amount of variation within each form, is one in which the description of species is difficult. Too, the decision that any species of this genus is new is a precarious one to make, because many of the older names are based upon only one of the several forms which may be presumed to exist; and no matter how well-mounted was the author's material, how thoroughgoing his description and measurements, or how accurate his drawings, there is no way, except as the result of experience-and then only approximately-even to surmise what the other forms of his species may be like in color or structure. Furthermore, many of our thrips-especially, it seems, the bark-inhabiting ones, though others are nearly as well giftedhave an almost uncanny facility for getting from place to place, even negotiating long voyages by ship or wind-aided flight from such distant regions as the Orient, or Africa, or South America,-if, indeed, they have not gone to those areas from ours. Florida has species in common with the regions mentioned, as well as with still other regions just as far away. Our inevitable synonymical burden may in time become great. Fortunately, however, the type material of the present species constituted a single colony. There can be no doubt that the several diverse forms described below represent one species, only. The specific name matabilis, meaning changeable, though it would be equally appropriate for any one of a number of allied species, serves nevertheless to draw attention to, and emphasize, some of the points made above.

During the summer of 1944 a large number of sandflies of the genus Phlebotomus was collected at Uvalde, Texas, and brought to Houston in an effort to establish a laboratory colony. Although sandflies had been collected in and around human habitations during the latter part of May and early June, none was found in such localities during July, August or the first part of September. Towards the end of September sandflies were again obtained from human habitations. During the months of July, August and September sandflies were collected from a rabbit pen attached to the Field Experiment Station of the U. S. Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine. The specimens found in and around homes, biting human beings, were identified as Phlebotomus diabolicus Hall, 1936. Those collected from the rabbits proved to be a previously undescribed species possessing a number of unusual characteristics which warrant the erection of a new subgenus to include it, for which the name Dampfomyia is proposed. The specific name anthophorus is proposed for this new form, based on the peculiar characters of the spermatheca. A description of Phlebotomus (Dampfomyia) anthophorus, and an amended description of Phlebotomnus diabolicus are given below.

the median light line extending down to the frontal instead of bifurcating on the nuchal; it includes E. lynxe, E. sumichrasti, and the E. belli of Smith and Etheridge. Taylor (1935) synonymized Plestiodon bellii Gray with Eumeces lynxe. Smith and Etheridge (1953) resurrected the specific name, bellii, and applied it to a form of Eumeces inhabiting the eastern coastal plain of Mexico. The recently described E. lynxe durangoensis (Tanner, 1958) is not distinguishable from E. 1. belli and the specimens reported on by Smith and Etheridge (op. cit.) are not referable to E. 1. belli. Legler and Webb (1960) have already synonymized E. 1. durangoensis with E. 1. belli but they do not discuss reasons for their action.

M N. PAVLENKO in 1910 described a new species, Sebastodes ruber' * from the southeast coast of Siberia. The specific name ruber has been used by Ayres for an American species of the same genus and has been incorrectly used by other authors for yet another form. Cramer proposed the name ruberrimus for the ruber of those other than Ayres, and the ruber of Ayres has been synonymized with auriculatus. I therefore replace the name Sebastodes ruber Pavlenko with the new specific name Sebastodes pavlenkoi, in honor of the late Russian ichthyologist. Pavlenko believed this species to be most nearly related to S. glaucus, and this seems probable as they both have 14 dorsal spines and othet peculiar characters. I quote the following from the original account of Sebastodes ruber Pavlenko.

Because of confusion over the correct specific names, the following species have been redescribed with taxonomically serviceable drawings of both sexes: Branchinecta coloradensis Packard, 1874, B. lindahli Packard, 1883, and B. packardi Pearse, 1912. Type specimens of Packard's two species are nonexistent; neotypes have been deposited in the U. S. National Museum. The specific identity of B. coloradensis Pack., 1874 cannot be established from the original description. Packard's redescription of 1883 is invalidated by contradictions between it and the first description. Shantz (1905) redescribed Packard's species, his specimens certainly being identical with those of Packard's second description. He assumed that Packard's two descriptions were of the same species, which may or may not be the case, but by his redescription validated the name coloradensis for the species corresponding to Packard's second description. As the first reviser of Packard's obscure and conflicting descriptions, Shantz's identification of the species, and assignment of the specific name, have priority over later revisions. B. shantzi Mackin, 1952 is a junior synonym of B. coloradensis Pack., as reviewed by Shantz, 1905. B. lindahli Packard, 1883 was also insufficiently described. Shantz's revision (1905) adequately described as B. lindahli a species which is most likely identical with that of Packard. As the first reviser of Packard's deficient description, Shantz's identification of the species and his allocation of the specific name are entitled to recognition as valid. There is no positive evidence that B. coloradensis Pack., 1874 is identical with the B, lindahli of Shantz's redescription, therefore the B. coloradensis Pack. of Mackin, 1952 must be considered a junior synonym of B. lindahli Pack., as revised by Shantz, 1905. B. packardi Pearse, 1912 is a valid species. Comparison of specimens with Packard's description of B. lindahli fails to disclose any certain correspondences in the specific characters. Consequently, the B. lindahli Pack. of Mackin's revision (1952) is a junior synonym of B. packardi Pearse. In recent years uncertainty has arisen concerning the species of fairy shrimp to be identified as Branchinecta coloradensis Packard, 1874, B. lindahli Packard, 1883, and B. packardi Pearse, 1912. Throughout this paper these specific nanmes will be used in conformity with the usage in the keys of Pearse (1918), Creaser (1935), and with the descriptions of Shantz (1905). It is hoped that an analysis of Packard's work, accompanied by more exact illustrations of the disputed species, will enable a definite decision as to the correct name of each species which will be in agreement with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. The primary responsibility for the confusions must be attributed to A. S. Packard, whose descriptions are not only deficient in requisite taxonomic detail, but are so filled with errors, contradictions, and 1 This study was supported by Grant No. G 17604 from the National Science Foundation.

In a small collection of mosses made by Miss Ruth Mylroie on Kodiak Island, Alaska, in 1911 were found some very interesting specimens of a sterile Mnium that proved to be M. flagellare Sull. & Lesq. The type locality of this species is Hakodadi, Yesso, Japan, where it was collected by Charles Wright in 1855, in connection with the North Pacific Exploring Expedition under John Rodgers, and up to this year it has been known only from Japan and from the region of the Amoor or Sachalin River, including Sachalin Island opposite the river's mouth. The plant takes its specific name from the abundant flagella, 3 or 4 mm. long, that grow out from around and among the antheridia and archegonia of the terminal flower buds. The Alaska specimens show stems, radiculose below, with oblong elliptic, acute, rather distant and long-decurrent leaves, 2 to 2.5 mm. long; leaf border of a double thickness of cells about 2 cells wide and more or less doubly serrate two-thirds down the leaf; costa percurrent, at least in upper leaves and smooth on back; leaf cells, with thin walls, prominently mamillate-papillose on both sides, the median cells about 12/ or rarely 16/A in diameter. Brotherus in Engler & Prantl gives only one other species of Mnium, found in China and Japan, having the leaves thus roughened on both sides.

A morphological and systematic account of three new species of ostracods epizoic on crayfishes: Ankylocythere ancyla, Cymocythere clavata, and Entocythere dentata. The range and host relationships of each new species are considered. During the examination of commensal ostracods of the subfamily Entocytherinae Hoff (1942) from various localities in the Carolinas, several new species were encountered, three of which are described herein. One clearly belongs to the genus Ankylocythere Hart 1962, another to the genus Cymocythere Hart 1962, and the third is assigned to the genus Entocythere Marshall 1903. The methods utilized in this study were similar to those outlined by Crawford (1959). Ankylocythere ancyla sp. nov. This species possesses the characteristic prominent talon on the extensor margin of the horizontal ramus of the clasping apparatus. The specific name refers to the curved condition of this talon. The valve of the male (Fig. 7) is suboval in lateral aspect, with smoothly rounded anterior and posterior margins. The setation is sparse on the lateral surface and irregularly spaced on margins. The eye is located about one-fifth of the valve length from the anterior end. The valve size is relatively constant, as indicated by the measurements of ten specimens from the type locality mounted in Hoyer's solution; length ranges from 0.345 mm to 0.390 mm, with an average of 0.367 mm; height, from 0.225 mm to 0.240 mm, averaging 0.234 mm. The valve of the triunguis female (Fig. 6) is suboval in outline and without conspicuous irregularities. The valve is relatively constant, averaging 0.387 mm in length and 0.246 mm in height. The antennae are typical of those of the genus Ankylocythere and they appear to lack features of taxonomic importance. The mandible (Fig. 3) consists of the usual elements. The mandibular palp, consisting of four indistinct podomeres, appears to be somewhat thicker and heavier than is usual in members of this genus. The maxilla is in rio way different from that of other members of this genus. The copulatory complex of the male (Fig. 1) bears on the indistinct proximal portion of the base the short dorsal and long ven1 Part of this study was made possible by a grant from the American Association for the Advancement of Science through the South Carolina Academy of Science.

I HAVE just obtained from the Chatham Islands a nearly perfect sub-fossil skull of an extinct Ocydromine rail, closely resembling the Mauritian Aphanapteryx, five and quarter inches long, beak arched, slender, very pointed, for which I propose the specific name Hawkinsi.

During the summer of 1940, a spiruroid nematode was found to occur in large numbers in the swim bladder of the lake trout, Cristivomer namaycush (Walbaum), from Flack Lake, Ontario, Canada. Further study revealed that the parasites represented an undescribed species of Cystidicola for which the name Cystidicola cristivomeri sp. nov. is hereby proposed. This paper presents a detailed study of the morphology of the new species. In a recently published abstract (White, 1940), the new specific name was withheld so that it would appear simultaneously with the publication of an extended account.

I AM obliged to Dr. Harrison for remarking on the mistake in my letter in NATURE of December 9 where in one place “Aphides” was written instead of “Coccidae.” The specific name proletella, placed under the outline sketch in Fig. 1 a, was given on the authority of a well-known entomologist to whom specimens were sent for identification. Dr. Harrison would name this brassicae.

Galium multiflorum Kellogg was the first named (in 1861) of a group of western North American Galia whose taxonomy has remained unclear for nearly a century. Since that date a dozen specific names have been published in the group, besides a dozen infraspecific names, in various combinations. The names G. multiflorunm and G. watsonii particularly have been used in a wide variety of meanings. In this study an attempt has been made first, by a synthesis of distributional and morphological data to determine what the natural groups are; secondly, to evaluate their categorical status; and thirdly, to determine the proper application of existing names. One new specific name was also found to be needed.

Although there is some doubt about the validity of the specific name for the plaster bagworm, the name given in the title has been in common usage for more than twenty years. The very short description of the insect by Busck (1933) is accompanied by a statement that the larvae are not cloth feeders but eat remains of insects caught in spider webs. In the same year Kea (1933) stated that larvae of Tineola uterelia Walsingham [wwalsinghami Busck(?)] refused insect remains but were in reality feeders on woolens and furs like other familiar members of the family. Watson (1939, 1946) has repeated the observations of Busck so far as feeding on dead insects is concerned but recognizes the species as an important household pest. Mallis (1954) repeats Watson's statements about the larvae feeding on insect remains in spider webs and adds that this is a precarious way for an insect to make a living. Within infested buildings the cases of the plaster bagworm are quite noticeable on light-colored plastered walls. Grains of sand are commonly attached to the exterior of the silken cases and it is only logical for the layman to assume that the little creatures within the cases are feeding on the plaster. If such infested buildings are carefully examined, additional cases will be found under furniture and attached to woodwork where they are much less obvious than on the walls. Over a period of more than 20 years the writer has observed the plaster bagworm in the Gulf Coast region. In addition to the infestations within buildings, the insect occurs under buildings where the cases hang from subflooring, joists, sills, and foundations. Cases may be found attached to the exterior of buildings in shaded locations, under farm sheds, under lawn furniture, attached to stored farm machinery, and even on tree trunks. The question of the food of these larvae in these unusual situations has been of interest to the writer for many years. It was not until recently that some detailed studies of the insect were made to determine its food habits under out-of-doors conditions. Busek (1933) was on the right track but did not carry his observations far enough. Although fragments of dead insects are occasionally attached to the exterior of the cases (as are sand, bits of paint, shreds of paper, etc.), the most common and abundant food of the species is old spider webs which are consumed in large quantities. Under caged conditions the larvae are also fond of webs of Corrodentia and Embiidina from the trunks of trees. Larvae do not hesitate to chew holes in old abandoned cases of their species and it is assumed that this silk is utilized as food. Perhaps other types of webs also serve as food under conditions in nature. The structure of the case of the plaster bagworm is interesting. It has been described as having the shape, size, and flatness of a cantaloupe seed. Unlike the cases of most case-bearing Lepidoptera, the case of the plaster bagworm is the same on both ends. Slit-like openings occur at each end

THE attention of the zoological profession is invited to the fact that the proposition is before the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to re-open the case of Simia. In its present form the proposition is for the Commission : (a) absolutely to suppress the generic names Simia and Pithecus and the specific name Simia satyrus, on the ground that retention of these names and the application of the rules to them will produce greater confusion than uniformity; (b) to insert into the Official List of Generic Names, Chimpansee Voigt, 1831, 76, for the chimpanzees Pongo Lacepede, 1799, type pygmaeus 1760, for the orang-utans, and Macaca Lacepede, 1799, type sylvana 1758, for the Barbary ape.

Members of five species groups of Neotropical Rufo were examined osteologically. Representatives of the guttatus group possess broad frontoparietals which fuse with the pro-otics late in ontogeny; the neural spines of these species are greatly roughened. Affinity with the African B. mauritanicus, B. superciliaris and regularis species group and with the Asian B. asper is suggested. The marinus group displays broad frontoparietals in fusion with the pro-otics and cristation patterns similar to the Central American and Mexican valliceps group. Toads of the granulosus group possess "closed" orbits, intense dermal coossification, and frontoparietals of broad and intermediate width; these conditions are possibly secondarily derived. The spinulosus group comprises both broad and narrow frontoparietal typos which may represent separate major evolutionary lines. The monotypic variegatus group appears closely related to the narrow frontoparietal members of the spinulosus group. INTRODUCTION Recently, much evolutionary research has been directed toward the genus Bufo. Baldauf (1955, 1958, 1959) has employed histological reconstruction in comparisons of cranial morphology. Evidence from paleontology and osteology has been utilized by Tihen (1960, 1962a,b; in press) toward systematic ends. Morphological and several biochemical approaches have been applied by Cei and various colleagues (1960, 1962, 1966) to South American species. Guttman (1967) has investigated blood proteins in Bufo using starch-gel electrophoresis, while Bogart (1968) has employed cytogenetic analysis in his research. The mechanics of vocalization of many bufonids have been compared by W. F. Martin (1967). During this time, Blair (1962, 1963, 1964, 1966; in press), utilizing artificial hybridization and other techniques, has developed a comprehensive evolutionary scheme for Bufo. Nevertheless, many opportunities for question and confirmation exist and provide stimuli for further investigation. MATERIALS AND METHODS This report presents and analyzes osteological data for five Neotropical species groups of Bufo; relevant species from other continents are also discussed in detail. Sample size is indicated in parentheses after the specific name. Debatable species status is indicated by question marks directly succeeding taxa. Species group assignation generally follows that of Blair (in press). Skeletonization was by treatment with dilute sodium hypochlorite (Sanders, 1953) or by dermestid beetle larvae. Osteological details of 1 Based in part on a doctoral dissertation submitted to The University of Texas at Austin. 2 Partial support was provided by a National Science Foundation Summer Traineeship in Environmental and Systematic Biology.

A new genus and species, Calderonella sylvatica (Gramineae), is described from the rain forests of Panama. Features of its spikelet morphology and leaf anatomy reveal that the affinities of Calderonella are with the centostecoid group of grasses, of which Zeugites appears to be the most closely related genus. A brief characterization of the centostecoid group is presented, as well as a key to the genera included in it, with comments on each. In the rain forests of tropical America occur some of the most ornamental members of the grass family. The new genus is no exception. Delicate plants which inhabit the densely shaded forests of Panama (Fig. 1) in the Province of Colon, the lanceolate blades and white spikelets borne on long filiform culms create the illusion of a liliaceous plant (Figs. 2-3). Plants of Calderonella are common in the forests of Santa Rita and were first discovered by Correa and Dressler in January 1968, when access to the previously undisturbed forests was made possible by a new lumber road. Large gatherings have since been made in the same location, with field observations carried out by Cleofe E. Calderon, after whom the genus is named. The specific name alludes to the forest habitat of the new grass. Plants of the new genus also occur in the forests of Cerro Jefe, Provincia de

I AM glad that Sir Clifford Allbutt, in NATURE for October 20, p. 590, supports the spelling “deinosaur,” although Owen wrote Dinosauria. Only a week ago I heard a university student pronounce the word as “dinnosaur.” Wherever pronunciation can be helped by correcting current forms the correction is obviously of service. From this point of view we may pardon, even if we regret, Miocene and Pliocene. No one, however, has attempted to write “Plistocene.” We have for some centuries converted the Latin forms ae and oe (for the Greek ai and oi) into the forms ae and œ in manuscript and in print; but this has no classical authority and can be abandoned with much advantage, as has been done in modern Latin texts. The Greek diphthong or semi-diphthong ei could not well be shortened into one letter in our script, and this fact provides an inconsistency for those who join a and o to e in transliterations from Greek or Latin. Where the word has become anglicised in form, as cœnosarc, or where, like cœnenchyma, it is not a generic or specific name, the diphthong no doubt will remain compounded; but we may, I think with wisdom, write Coeloptychium and Taenia. Moeritherium is a case that needs attention. The British Museum, which has an honourable vested interest in the mortal remains of this fascinating creature, writes the o and the e separately. The Americans, and now the Japanese, adopt the compounded form.

THERE appears to be no authority for the belief that, where the original description is unrecognizable, the name is applied on the basis of the first recognizable account which appears afterwards under the same name. If the work of subsequent authors is taken into account at all, that of Lacepede, Bonnaterre and Daudin must also be considered. They proposed the specific name caouana as a substitute for the Linnean caretta and in doing so might be considered to have fixed the Linnean name.

THE idea of the genus as the smallest "kind" of plant or animal that can be recognised without close study was an extremely important one in the earlier periods of taxonomy (Bartlett, 1940). The species was a subdivision of it, often requiring expert examination both before it could be recognised and before it could be named, since the specific name was at once a qualification of the generic name and a differentiation from all other specific names within that genus. Hence the custom of putting the generic name first. More than a trace of this same attitude to the genus can be seen in the results of Anderson's minor census (1940) of botanical opinion, which revealed a high proportion in favour of the view that the genus is more natural than the species. It is presumably the extreme usefulness of the genus taken in this sense that leads Just (1953) to affirm that "from a purely systematic point of view, the genus still comprises [sic] the most effective taxonomic unit on which new classifications of higher groups can be based. . ." Linnaeus seems to me to stand halfway between this earlier practice and more modern ones. For naming, he retains the older ideas and states emphatically (Critica Botanica, Hort's translation, Aphorism 257, for example) that "the Genus must be established before the [specific] name is settled, so that in each genus we may recognise the species which we are supposed to be distinguishing. For the specific name is not given us alive, unless it has a head: the head is the generic name." It is not merely fanciful, surely, to believe that such an attitude was necessary in days when the production of keys, and sound rules for nameformation, the operation of which would produce agreed synonymies, was of the first importance. But on the other hand, his attitude to the species is much more modern. Ramsbottom (1938) has given an excellent survey of Linnaeus's opinions and Svenson (1945) has discussed much of their historical background. Svenson points out that, as soon as (and not until) the doctrine of a general and frequent transmutation of species had been brought into disrepute, the species could be regarded with confidence as a morphologically stable group of individuals, "breeding true." It then became a unit within the genus, equally susceptible of definition. The idea of its constancy, the doctrine of the immutability of species, has been of great use in the development of modern taxonomy. That Linnaeus in later years came to consider that species were not wholly immutable, as Ramsbottom has pointed out, does not mean that he returned to a chaos, comparatively speaking, of fluctuating forms within each genus. He, like his predecessors, knew far too many distinct species, apparently immutable apart from phenotypical variation. Hybrids were to be recognised as such, but if they achieved relative constancy, then they merited the status of species. These views are well expressed in his method of nomenclature. The generic name was a single word, denoting a general kind of plant or animal. His name for a species was a phrase, not exceeding twelve words and preferably as short as possible, which was descriptive. It either referred to some striking character by which the species could be distinguished

Since the name Culex canfusus which has been used for the description of a new species of the subgenus Laphoceraomyia (Sirivanakarn 1968, Pacific Insects Monograph 17: 105) is ajunior homonym of Culex ( Culex ) confusus Baisas (1938), a new name , Culex ( Laphaceraomyia ) singuawaensis Sirivanakarn, is proposed here to replace Culex ( Laphoceraomyia ) confusus Sirivanakarn in accordance with Article 53 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature as adopted by the XV International Congress of Zoology.

During the spring and summer of 1951, one of the authors (C.M.S.) and Kenneth A. Neiland had the opportunity to make a preliminary survey of the helminths of some Oregon mammals. A trematode of unusual interest was collected from the mink, Mustela vision Schreber, the muskrat, Ondatra zibethica (Linnaeus), and the water shrew, Sorex bendirii palmeri taken near Portland, Oregon. This fluke had the general anatomy and egg-size characteristic of Euryhelmis squamula (Rudolphi 1819) and occurred with this species in the mink and the shrew, but it differed from it in shape. At first the worms were considered to be immature specimens of E. squamula but further study has shown that its life cycle involves a salamander rather than a frog. Because of these and other differences this fluke is considered a distinct species for which the specific name E. pacificus is proposed. Certain peculiarities of this species also require emendation of the genus. All of the material from the mink, the muskrat, and the shrew was fixed in formalin-alcohol-acetic acid solution, stained with Semichon's acetocarmine with a counterstain of fast green, cleared in either xylene or terpineol, and mounted in Clarite. The experimentally reared material was handled as above or was fixed with either corrosive-acetic acid solution or Bouin's fluid and stained with Ehrlich's

Anisacanthus is a small genus of the Acanthaceae, which, because of the relatively few collections and the obscure specific characters, has been poorly understood. The present study was undertaken to correlate the morphological characters of the taxonomic entities of the genus as a whole, and to determine the relative value of the different characters in specific and varietal delimitation. Anisacanthus is one of several genera segregated from Justicia, having been described by Nees2 in the year 1842. He based it on Justicia qquadrifida Vahl,3 which in turn was founded on J. coccinea Cavanilles,4 a plant grown in the gardens of Madrid from stock brought from Mexico probably in the latter part of the eighteenth century. Vahl had changed the species name from coccinea to quadrifida because of the earlier J. coccinea Aublet. Under the name Justicia quadrifida Vahl, it was not infrequently cultivated in European gardens; and fortunately several authentic specimens from horticulture have been preserved in herbaria. Nees, however, soon changed the name of the type species to Anisacanthus virguclaris (Salisbury) Nees,5 and as such it was known until Standley revived the specific name quadrifidus.ff

This rare moss was collected by Dr. John W. Bailey, who found it "growing on rocks in snow water, just below McClure's Rock in Paradise Valley, Rainier National Park, Washington, at 7,000 feet altitude, August 5, 1925." The type of this plant was collected by Chr. Kaurin near Opdal, Norway. Dr. Harold Lindberg, son of the author of the specific name, kindly loaned a plant from the type material for comparison and verification, the label of which shows the interesting fact that Geheeb had first determined it as Mielichoferia nitida. Then Lindberg described it as Pohlia (Cacodon) erecta, in Rev. bryol., 1883, p. 7. Later Sanio published it as Mielichoferia defecta in Bot. Centralbl., Bd. XIII, No. 7 (1883). Kindberg sided with Sanio, referring it to Mielichoferia, but recognizing the priority of Lindberg's specific name, writing Mielichoferia erecta Lindb., in Enum., p. 22 (1888). However, the plant is undoubtedly a Webera, as a close study of the perfect North American material shows. There is a more or less perfect outer peristome. But the inner peristome is always rudimentary, and is, indeed, not found at all in a large number of capsules. When present, it consists of a low membrane of 2 or 3 rows of thin plates from which project rudiments of paired cilia and segments, usually not longer than the height of the supporting membrane.

AT the tenth session of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council held in Seoul, Korea, recently, it was recommended that a register of introductions of exotic fish should be compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization and that institutions and scientific workers should be asked to assist in this. I have undertaken to compile a list of all the introductions of Tilapia spp. into countries where they are not indigenous. Tilapia has already been introduced extensively in a number of countries, and if records are not compiled soon it will not be possible to ascertain the identity of any particular fish. This has already proved the case in some parts of Africa, where fish identified as a particular species in one area have proved different from fish given the same specific name in another area.

In the preparation of a revised treatment of the genus Crcataegus in the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, to be published soon, it has been found necessary to propose a new specific name to replace one invalidated by all earlier homonym and to change the status of a number of names from species to varieties or forms. And in treating the species under a broader concept than that of the original authors, many names are placed in synonymy. This more conservative treatment of the genus seems to be amply justified by extensive field studies, the examination of a very large amount of material in herbaria and in private collections, and by observations extending over a number of years of the hundreds of living plants in the Arnold Arboretum, most of which were grown from seeds taken from type trees or from type localities. As a result of these studies it is hoped that progress has been made in the understanding of many of the species and of their limits and relationships. But much more work must be done before anything like an adequate or final treatment of this difficult genus can be undertaken. At present many conclusions can only be tentative and based upon the best judgmenit of the'investigator. It must be recognized that there is no real uniformity of opinion among tax7 onomists on what constitutes a species or on how specific lines can be drawn between very similar and closely related plants or animals with variable and intergrading characters. And it would seem that there must always be a border-line or zone along which such agreement is impossible and within which there will continue to be differences of opinion. Under an evolutionary concept of nature it can readily be understood that various groups of organisms may stand at different stages in the process of differentiation, and that some forms may have become widely separated from their nearest allies while others are only beginning to diverge in different directions. It is, therefore, not at all surprising to find that authors and reviewers are often in disagreement as to whether certain plants should be regarded as distinct species, as varieties, or as forms, or should be merged with other forms in the broader concept of a single variable species. As everyone who has followed recent taxonomic literature knows, many botanical names have undergone changes in status, and it is not uncommon for authors to change their opinions in subsequent publications even about the validity or standing of their own proposed names. The logical significance of this situation is that classification into species in some sections at least of many of the larger plant genera is largely artificial and a matter of convenience. Crataegus, particularly in the parts of North America where it is most abulldantly developed, is a conspicuous example of a comparatively young and expanding genus in a state of instability and in process of evolution. Most of the species are smnall trees or arboreseent shrubs growing on the borders of woods, in glades, or on rocky hills, or springing up in naturally or artificially cleared areas where competition with other plants is not too keen. They are essentially "opportunists," and under primitive conditions when most of eastern North America was covered with a dense unbroken forest, the space available to them was very limited and there was little chance for the different species to come in contact with each other. Such conditions were not generally favorable for hybridization or for 471

The male of Pediculus schaeffi Fahrenholz, 1910 is redescribed and illustrated. The adult female of Pthirus gorillae Ewing is for the first time described and illustrated. The taxonomy of the family Pediculidae is in a chaotic state. At present descriptions and knowledge of all the known species of the Pediculidae are insufficient to indicate their taxonomic status, except for Pediculus humanus L. and Pthirus pubis (L.). Ferris (1951) recognized four species of Pediculus: P. humanus L., P. pseudohumanus Ewing, P. mjfbergi Ferris, and P. schaeffi Fahrenholz. All other species of Pediculus should be reexamined for their validity with additional information. The genus Pthirus contains two species, P. pubis (L.) and P. gorillae Ewing. As late as 1965 two invalid generic names Phthirius and Phthirus have commonly been used for the genus Pthirus Leach. A specific name Phthirus pubis has been used for the crab louse Pthirus pubis (L.) (Blickenstaff, 1965). Pthirus Leach (1815) is the first established name for the genus, and Phthirius Burmeister (1835) and Phthirus Leach (1817) are invalidly emended names. The generic name Pthirus was decided as an available name for this taxon by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (Opinion 104, 1928) (Hemming, 1958). The other names Phthirius Burmeister and Phthirus Leach have been placed in the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid Generic Names in Zoology (Direction 63, 1957) and became unavailable (Hemming, 1958). The generic name Pthirus should only be used for this taxon. Through the efforts of U. S. mammalogists, Received for publication 13 May 1968. * Department of Entomology, Fisheries, and Wildlife, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minne

For several years, dead hemlock timber in the vicinity of State College, Pennsylvania, has been destroyed by a peculiar rot which seems to be quite constantly associated with sporophores of the fungus Polyporus tsugae (Mnurrill) Overholts. An investigation of the problem was undertaken at the suggestion of Dr. L. O. Overholts and a preliminary report of the situation prepared but not published. Soon after assuming his duties in New Jersey, the writer noticed a group of hemlocks along the Raritan River near New Brunswick, N. J. An excursion to these showed a large number of them dead or dying from the effects of the root rot fungus Polyporus schweinitzii. Some of the trees bore sporophores of the sap rot Polyporus abietinus, but most of the trees that had died recently, bore sporophores of Polyporus tsugae, sometimes in great abundance. Further investigation showed present in these standing trunks the same rot that had been studied in stumps and prostrate trunks of hemlock near State College. This abundant material has made further observations possible. Polyporus tsugae (Murrill) Overholts has been reported on pine and hemlock for a number of years but the decay caused by it has never been described. The sporophore was first described by Dr. W. A. Murrill under the present specific name. He placed it in the section Fomiteae under the name Ganoderma tsugae along with several other species of Ganoderma. It is, however, an annual plant and the entire genus as limited by Dr. Murrill more properly belongs in the section Polyporeae instead of Fomiteae. This point will be given further consideration later. The species has also been referred to the genus Polyporus by another writer. The species is very closely related to Polyporus lucidus and P. curtisii. 262

During the winter of I930-31 a species of Troglodytella, tentatively identified as Troglodytella abrassarti acumninata Reichenow, I917, by Nelson (I932) was found to be harbored by some chimpanzees kept at the Johns Hopkins University. This was the sixth report of these ciliates in the literature, the first being the original description by Brumpt and Joyeux (I912) who gave the organism the genus and species name Troglodytella abrassarti. The second and third reports were by Reichenow (I9I7 and I920). He added another species, Troglodytella gorillae, to this genus, which he found in a gorilla and considered to differ sufficiently from the original to be given a new specific name. The form that he discovered in the chimpanzee had a longer and more pointed posterior end than that described and illustrated by Brumpt and Joyeux. He decided that it was sufficiently different to permit the creation of a subspecies, Troglodytella abrassarti acumlinata. This genus was next mentioned by Kirby (I928) who noted it in four chimpanzees kept at Yale University. The fifth account of this genus in the literature was by Curasson (1929) who claimed a pathogenic role for it, and the sixth by Nelson (1932) who tried to cultivate it on artificial media.

With the exception of Stenostomum and Dalyellia, Catenula is probably the most common genus of rhabdocoel encountered in the eastern United States. Collection records indicate the genus Catenula to be equally prevalent over the entire eastern part of the country. At present there is no single piece of literature available which would make identification easy or even possible. The following treatment of the genus Catenula is an attempt to evaluate the species known to the United States and to so describe and figure them as to make accurate identification possible. Included are descriptions of two new species and notes on distribution, collection, general biology, culture methods, and a key to the American species so far known. The genus Catenula was established in 1832 by Duges for a fresh-water worm which he collected in autumn, 1830. He proposed the name Catenula because of the resemblance of a specimen of several zooids to a small chain; the specific name lemnae was used because he had discovered the animal in a lens of water. Duges' description is somewhat incoherent and is confused by the fact that throughout the paper he becomes involved in comparisons with tapeworms, other flatworms, and annelids. However, his figures are good and, with the description given, he established beyond doubt the fact that he was dealing with the same species we have cultured for seven years. Leidy (1851) described Anortha gracilis from Philadelphia which so early as 1854 was recognized by Leuckart as a Catenula and carried by him as Catenula gracilis. Catenula gracilis was carried as a species by practically every author who mentioned the genus until Graff (1913) relegated it to synonymy with Catenula lemnae. From Leidy's description it is difficult to see how it was specifically identified at all. Schmarda (1959) added C. bina' and C. quarterna to the genus. C. bina lacked a statocyst and C. quarterna had a protonephridial tube down each side of the body. However, the description of C. quarterna leaves no doubt that Schmarda was dealing with an organism of the same general structure as a Catenula. It was suggested by Beauchamp (1919) that such a protonephridial condition would justify removal to another group. Luther (1907) suspected that Schmarda had committed an observational error with reference to the two protonephridial tubes, and Marcus (1945a) considers the inclusion of C. quarterna as a valid species open to question but, nevertheless, includes it in his key for the genus. In view of the fact that this species conforms so completely in other respects to the generic criteria, it seems logical that these criteria be revised to allow the inclusion of this species.

as milk, butter, eggs and meat, and finally (3) a distinctly fishy flavor is evident in water, milk and butter under circumstances that preclude its being derived from fishes. I conclude therefore that the occasional socalled fishy bird probably does not taste thus because it has been feeding upon fishes. More probably the flavor of its flesh results from the physiological condition of the individual bird.' It may be due to by-products of the breaking down of fat, the reserve upon which such an individual has made great drafts, and the process may be similar to what takes place in fishy butter.W. L. McATEE, Washington, D. C.

THE Georgian Military Way is the main route across the Caucasus Mountains. It leads from Vladicavcas on the north to Tiflis on the south. The road is famed in Russian history as the scene of many encounters between the Russians and the Gruzini (Georgians). It is equally renowned for its magnificent scenery; the Daryal Canyon and Mount Kasbek are known by name to every Russian school child. The Georgian Military Way has been trod not only by soldiers but by botanists, with the result that the Caucasian flora is as well known as any in Russia. Some fifty species of plants bear the name caucasica. There is a humorous saying among Russian botanists that when in the Caucasus if you do not know the specific name of a plant, guess orientalis, if wrong, then guess caucasica and you are certain to be right ! The Caucasian Mountains lie diagonally in a north-west to south-east direction across the broad neck of land which joins the Russian Union to Turkey and Persia (Fig. 1). They extend from the Black Sea to the Caspian, and separate Russia proper from Georgia and Azerbaijan. Tiflis is the capital of Georgia, and Baku, on the Caspian Sea, is the capital of Azerbaijan. These two " republics " and Armenia constitute Transcaucasia. The highest mountain in the Caucasus is Elbrus, 5660 m. (18,565 ft.); it lies far west of the Georgian Military Way. Mount Kasbek is second in height, 5043 m. (16,541 ft.), and lies close to the Way. All of the higher mountains are glaciated. Not far from the foot hills of the range on the north is Vladicavcas, a good sized but rather primitive town. Tiflis is the chief city on the south; it lies some 50 km. from the mountains. The Georgian Military Way, from Vladicavcas to Tiflis, is 220 km. long; the journey over it can be made in a day (10 hours) by auto-bus. More satisfactory for the botanist is to make the journey by carriage from Vladicavcas to Kasbek, which can be quite leisurely done in a day. The remainder of the trip from Kasbek to Tiflis is less interesting both scenically and botanically, and is best made by auto-bus, unless, of course, a survey of the more arid regions on the south side of the mountains is to be included. If one remains

IN their recent article in Nature1, on “A New Species of the genus Homo from Olduvai Gorge”, L. S. B. Leakey, P. V. Tobias and J. R. Napier refer to the specimens (from Swartkrans, Transvaal) originally described by Broom and Robinson (1949) as Telanthropus capensis but later referred by Robinson (1961) to Homo erectus Dubois sp. (1894). Leakey et al. give as their opinion that T. capensis “may well prove, on closer comparative investigation, to belong to Homo habilis”. However, if the Olduvai hominid proved to be conspecific with the Swartkrans form, the name capensis would have priority over habilis, not vice versa. Similarly, should the new hominid be conspecific with the Kanam mandible (which we think unlikely), the specific name kanamensis Leakey, 1935, would have priority.

DICHAEA GRAMINOIDES (Sw.) Lindl. The history of this species extends back to 1788, when Olof Swartz published a twelve-word description of Epidend rum graminoides from Jamaica. The description offers nothing by which we may accurately distinguish the species today, but his citation of the locality is important. In 1799 he transferred his species to the genus Cymbidium. Maintaining it in this genus in his Flora Indiae Occidentalis in i8o6, he then specified its range more exactly, as on trees in the temperate region of the mountains of southern Jamaica. His posthumous Adnotationes Botanicae provided a crude illustration of it in 1829. Under one or the other of these two genera the species appears in a few contemporary publications. It was transferred to the genus Isochilus by Hooker in I827, retaining the original specific name. Sprengel referred it erroneously in I826 to Isochilus graminifolius HBK., spelling the name Isochilos. Cogniaux (Fl. Bras. 36: 493) quotes this name as Isochilon, a practice followed in I923 by Kranzlin (Pflanzenreich 83: 47), who apparently drew heavily on Cogniaux for both inspiration and facts. Lindley placed it in the genus Dichaea in I833, retaining Swartz' specific name and thereby settling its nomenclatural troubles, so far as we can foresee at present, although Grisebach (Fl. Brit. W. Ind. 625) saw fit to change its name to graminea. Fawcett & Rendle (Fl. Jamaica 1: 138. pl. 30, f. 8-I2) gave an excellent illustration, and noted that they have 'not seen any specimens elsewhere than from Jamaica that appear to agree with the description of the species.' They also had the advantage of examining original material collected by Swartz himself. It has nevertheless been confused by various writers with other species from widely scattered localities. Sprengel's transfer of the species in I826 was the first of these cases, confusing it, through lack of plates or specimens, with a Colombian plant.

PROF. E. A. BOYCOTT, in NATURE of October 23, says: “Some persons who are extensively flea bitten seem to become immune”. This is, in my case, true of other insect bites. In January 1885 I suffered the most terrible agony from bites of Australian sand-flies (I do not know the specific name). Some seven years afterwards I was again in a sand-fly-infested neighbourhood and was completely immune from effects, and was so ever since.

The status of Professor French's Gastrophilus epilepsalis, described in the September number of this journal, has interested me especially, as I am preparing a new catalogue of North American Diptera.I am convinced that it was decidedly premature to assign a specific name to this larva. In the first place, it was very small and immature, and the earlier larval forms of Oestridæ are much less known than the later, so that we do not possess the data that would enable us to separate this species, for instance, from G. nasalis.

THE 1961 CODE is a remarkably efficient instrument of nomenclatural procedure compared with its predecessor; it is also a remarkably sound digest of the best ideas that arose and were weighed from almost every angle in connection with the 1948, 1953, and 1958 meetings of the International Congress of Zoology. It is not pretended that all taxonomists will be wholly pleased with more than a few of the Articles of this Code, or that any taxonomist will be satisfied with all of them, but the end result is still on the whole a remarkably useful achievement. Knowing that the Code cannot reflect all the idiosyncratic views of any one person, it is perhaps of questionable value for one person to make suggestions for its improvement; yet it seems so patently desirable for certain changes ultimately to be effected that at least some constructive ideas for improvement-those of presumably most general appeal-should be voiced in order to assure their consideration at an appropriate time. The following commentary, embracing only matters of possible general agreement although these include many of minor as well as a few of major importance, is thus presented simply as grist for the impartial mill of Commission consideration, with full knowledge that the refined product must be small in volume and perhaps almost unrecognizable in form as compared with the raw material. Miscellaneous Definitions. The definitions given of family, subfamily, genus, subgenus, species, and subspecies are in part highly dubious. Each is defined as a category of a given level, and also as a taxon of that category. In reality only the second definition is valid at least on the basis of usage; certainly reference to, for example, generic or specific categories implies only that these categories are composed of units of generic or specific rank of genera or species. The hierarchy of units of classification-the Phylum, Class, Order, etc. as commonly explained does indeed list these units as though they were the categories themselves, but it is surely always implicit that in reality these are merely the names applied to the units comprising the categories. Reference to "the genus" or "the species" is surely to the concept of the units known as genera or species, not to the category. It would also be very useful to include among the definitions a fixation for "species name" and "subspecies name" for the reason that the connotation of these terms is very different from "species," or "nominal species," or "specific name" and "subspecific name." The latter two are restricted to the second and third terms of a binomen and trinomen, respectively, whereas "species name" and "subspecies name" refer to the name of the species and subspecies, therefore the entire binomen or trinomen. Binomial Nomenclature. The latter discussion points up the impropriety of the term "binominal nomenclature" as the general term for the system of speciesgroup nomenclature, that is, Linnaean nomenclature. Trinominal nomenclature, commonly practiced as a part of modern taxonomy and certainly covered by the official Code for more than 50 years, is by etymological indication, not included in "binominal nomenclature," the term officially accepted in the 1961 Code for the system of nomenclature zoologists now use and have used for 200 years. The im

In 1916 there was published in Buitenzorg, Java, a small book, consisting of a relatively simple key, in the Dutch language, to the families, genera, and species of ferns and flowering plants that are characteristic of the settled agricultural areas of Java at low and medium altitudes. Its author was Doctor I. Boldingh1 and its title may be rendered in English as "Pocket Flora of the Agricultural lands of Java." This small, but apparently very useful volume, contains twenty names that are followed by the abbreviation "Bold." clearly indicating that in the author's mind they were new. Being published in a popular work, and not otherwise indicated as new, none of these Boldingh names appeared in Index Kewensis until its ninth Supplement was issued in 1938, twenty-two years after the book was published in Java. These new names, published in a most unorthodox manner and in contravention to the rules of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, form the subject of this discussion. I think that it is entirely clear that Doctor Boldingh attempted to locate and to adopt the earliest specific name that he considered to be valid for various species under the genera that he recognized. In this he was only doing what a great many other authors have done in their attempts to select specific names under the provisions of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, for that code is based essentially on priority. It is, however, most unfortunate that in no case did he even hint at the name-bringing synonyms on which his new names were based. The following examples indicate how these new Boldingh names appear in the text; nor are there any other entries except in the key. Thus under Flemingia, p. 121, we note