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Show 1879.] PAPER O N THE FRUIT-PIGEONS. 65 49. PTILOPUS GEELVINKIANUS. I do not think that the name used by Mr. Elliot is the proper one. The exact and full synonymy of this species stands as follows:- Ptilopus viridis, stirps geelvinkiana, Schleg. N. T. D. iv. p. (1871). Ptilopus musschenbroeki, Rosenb. in litt. (Schlegel, I. c). Ptilopus viridis geelvinkianus, Schleg. Mus. P. B. Columbce, 23 (1823). Ptilonopus musschenbroeki, Beccari, Ann. Mus. Civ. Gen. vii. p. 715 (1875). Ptilopus musschenbroeki, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Gen. ix. p. 195, sp. 3 (1876) ; Rowley, Orn. Miscell. iii. pi. (1878). Ptilopus geelvinkianus, Elliot, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 560, p. 49. From the above synonymy it appears that the first name given to this species by Prof. Schlegel can not be used, being a trinomial one ; and as at the same time he published that of P. musschenbroeki, Rosenb., this is the one which Mr. Elliot ought to have used, instead of making a binomial one of his own. 51. PTILOPUS RIVOLII. I also have examined the type of P. solomonensis, Gray, and quite agree with Mr. Elliot in referring it to P. rivolii $ . Lf L remember rightly, I wrote on the label of the typical specimen that such was my opinion. 52. PTILOPUS PRASINORRHOUS. To the localities registered by Mr. Elliot must be added the following, already mentioned by me-Gagie, Guebeh, Dammar, Mafor. As to P. prasinorrhous being different from P. rivolii, I do not think there can be the least doubt, although some specimens have the under tail-coverts more or less yellow, and even entirely yellow, but of much paler hue than in P. rivolii. 53. PTILOPUS STROPHIUM. Mr. Elliot unites P. miqueli, Rosenb., with P. strophium, Gould. The latter is based on a specimen, collected by Macgillivray during the voyage of the ' Rattlesnake' in Duchateau Island, one of the Louisiade group, beyond the south-eastern extremity of New Guinea. P. miqueli is founded on specimens from Jobie and the small island of Miosnom, very near the west coast of Jobie, in Geelvink Bay. In Miosnom P. miqueli is very common; Dr. Beccari has collected many specimens there. In no other place intermediate to those mentioned have P. strophium or P. miqueli been found. That in such far-away and limited localities the same bird should be found, and not in the very wide intervening tract, is a thing which very few will be disposed to believe ; and, besides, the two birds are, according to my views, really different. When I was in London last year I took with me two specimens of P. miqueli to compare with the type of P. strophium, and found that the latter differs in having the anterior PROC. ZOOL. Soc-1879, No. V. 5 |