Vol. XII, pp. 109-114 April 30, 1898 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON RANDOM NOTES ON THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE CHIROPTERA. BY T. S. PALMER. A careful examination of the names of bats now in common use shows that many changes must be made before the nomen-clature will lie placed on a stable basis. . Some of these changes have already been pointed out by Miller in his recent revision of the Vespertilionidae.* But errors no less glaring still pass current in other families, and it is the purpose of this paper to call attention to a few which have come to light while compiling a list of the family and generic names of Chiroptera. Bats are now usually divided into six families: Emballo-nuridse, Nycteridre, Pl^dlostomatidae, Pteropodidte, Rhinolo-phidse, and Vespertilionidse. A rigid adherence to the rule of priority requires a change in at least two of these names, as well as in the designations of several subfamilies, genera, and species. NOCTILIONIDiE ( Emballonuridie). The free-tailed bats received the commonly accepted name of Emballonuridse from Dobson in 1875. f Gray, however, in 1821 % * North American Fauna, No. 13, 1897; Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., Gtli ser. , XX, p. 379, 1897. Most of the references to generic and specific names were furnished Mr. Miller by the Biological .Survey of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, the generic names forming part of my forthcoming index to the genera of mammals. t Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., 4th ser., XVI, p. 317, Nov., 1875. X London Medical Repository, XV, p. 299, Apr. 1, 1821. 26-Bior,. Soc. Wash., Vol. XII, 1898 (109)
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