210 BuUetin of Zoological Nomenclature PROPOSED ADOPTION OF A "DECLARATION" CLARIFYING THE PROCEDURE TO BE ADOPTED UNDER ARTICLE 14 WHEN A SPECIFIC NAME IS PUBLISHED IN AN ABBREVIATED FORM By FRANCIS HEMMING, C.M.G., C.B.E. {Secretary to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature) (Commission Reference : Z.N.(S.) 1042) The purpose of the present application is to ask the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to render a Declaration clarifying the procedure to be followed under Article 14 of the Regies in cases where a specific name is published in an abbreviated form. This question was first brought to notice by Dr. Ernst Mayr (then of the American Museum of Natural History, New York) in a letter dated 10th March 1952 and it was agreed upon between lis that I should bring this matter before the Commission at a convenient time. Several examples are now available where the present problem arises and the opportunity is accordingly taken to place this matter before the Commission. 2. The nature of the problem may be illustrated by the following cases : — (a) Among the names by Linnaeus published in 1776 in the Catalogue prepared in connection with Edwards's Natural History was the specific name " americ." which appeared in the combination Vermivora americ. (Linnaeus, 1776, Cai. Birds Beasts Fishes Ins. Edvxirds's Nat. Hist. : 13). (b) A specific name was published in the abbreviated form " merid." for a species of Micronisus by Hartlaub in 1860 {Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 1860 : 109). (c) In 1771 Linnaeus published a specific name in the abbreviated form " leueoryn." in the combination Lanius leucoryn. (Linnaeus, 1771, Mantissa Plant : 524). 3. At the time when this matter was before Dr. Mayr and myself in 1952 only the first two of the foregoing examples was available. These resembled BvU. zool. Nomend. Vol. 13, Part 7. June 1957.
BioStor
