OCR Text |
Show 1896.] RULES OE ZOOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE. 311 enables us to retain the original (often Linnean) name, for which there is in many cases great difficulty in finding a substitute that ah will agree upon. Moreover, the usage of the same generic and specific term in such cases has now met with extensive acceptance on the Continent. At the same time it is only right to call attention to the formidable changes which the acceptance of the tautonymic principle would cause in the names of some of our most familiar animals. In order to show this clearly I give a list of 25 species of well-known English birds for which we should require a change of names if tautonyms are accepted l. 3. The German Eules (Sect. 7) adopt the 10th edition of the 'Systema Naturae' (1758) as the starting-point of Zoological Nomenclature, whereas the Stricklandian Code (Sect. 2) adopts the 12th (1766). The question of the proper edition of Linnseus's ' Systema Naturae' to be adopted as the starting-point of the binary system of Nomenclature appears to be the most difficult of the three principal questions now before us to settle satisfactorily, and to involve the most serious consequences. It seems to m e reasonable, on a prima facie view, that Einnaeus, having been the inventor and founder of the binary system of Nomenclature, should be allowed the credit and the privilege of completing his o w n work in the manner he thought best. By adopting the twelfth edition of the ' Systema 1 List of Names of British Birds affected by the tautonymic principle. B. 0. U. List. Page Tautonymic names. Sylvia cinerea 11. Sylvia sylvia. Regulus cristatus 14. Regulus regulus. Hypolais icterina 17. Hypolais hypolais. Cinclus melanogaster 24. Cinclus cinclus. Troglodytes parvulus 29. Troylodytes troglodytes. Carduelis elegans 47. Carduelis carduelis. Serinus hortulanus 49. Serin us serinus. Coccotkraustes vulgaris 50. Coccothraustes coccothraustes. Pyrrhocorax graculus 66. Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax. Pica rustica 68. Picapica. Scops giu 89. Scops scops. Bubo ignavus 90. Bubo bubo. Buteo vulgaris 94. Buteo buteo. Tinnunculus alaudarius 104. Tinnunculus tinnunculus. Fuligula cristata 129. Fuligula fuligula. Turtur communis 139. Turtur turtur. Perdix cinerea 142. Perdix perdix. Cotumix communis 143. Coturnix cotumix. Lagopus mutus 144. Lagopus lagopus. Tetrao tetrix 145. Tetrao tetrao. Porzana maruetta 147. Porzana porzana. Crex pratensis 149. Crex crex. Grus communis 152. Grus grus. (Edicnemus scolopax 155. QUdknemus ozdicnemus. Vanellus vulgaris 161. Vanellus vanellus. now in the Library of the Linnean Society, it will be found that the second scomber is altered, apparently in Linnams's own handwriting, into scombrus (see note on this subject, ' Ibis,' 1895, p. 168). Instead of the Scomber-scomber principle it would be better to call it the " tautonymic principle," and names formed upon this principle tautonyms. |