| OCR Text |
Show 242 MR. O. THOMAS ON THE WORD " TYPE." [Mar. 14, As to category I. there is or ought to be no confusion whatever. The one specimen, and that alone, is the " type," no matter how many specimens the original collector may afterwards send home, or the original author afterwards determine. In the case of category IL, all the specimens on which the author based his species, be they many or few (but no specimens received or named afterwards), would be " co-types," there being then no single " type " of the species at all, as all the co-types may be supposed together to form the type. In the case of category III., as the author has selected his type, that, and that alone, would remain as such, but since the other specimens mentioned or enumerated by him in the original description are of unquestionably great value in a typical sense, they ought also to have a name and might be called " para-types " (or side-types). Next, to meet the case of specimens collected afterwards at the same place as the originals, and having thus at least a local claim to authenticity, the word topo-type (or place-type) might be suggested, but it should, so far as possible, be restricted _ to specimens collected within, say, a few miles of the original typical locality. In addition, it may be thought that specimens received from the original locality after the first description is published, but verified as belonging to his own species by the describer of it himself, should have a peculiar name, and for such there might be suggested the name " meta-type " (or after-type). As, however, w e know from experience that it is by no means impossible for the author of a name to apply it wrongly, such meta-types would be of but little more value than simple topo-types, especially if determined long after the first description of the species. The following are, then, the definitions now suggested for the different terms:- A Type is a single specimen either unaccompanied by others at the time of description, or else deliberately selected as such by the author out of a series. A Co-type is one of two or more specimens together forming the basis of a species, no type having been selected. N o species would have both type and co-types, but either the former, or two or more of the latter. A Para-type is a specimen belonging to the original series, but not the type, in cases where the author has himself selected a type. It should, however, be one of the specimens mentioned or enumerated in the original description. A Topo-type is a specimen simply collected at the exact locality where the original type was obtained. A Meta-type is a specimen received from the original locality after the description has been published, but determined as belonging to his o w n species by the original describer himself. |
