Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 81 PROPOSED USE OF THE PLENARY POWERS TO RENDER THE GENERIC NAME " SCYLLARIDES " GILL. 1898 (CLASS CRUSTACEA, ORDER DECAPODA) THE OLDEST AVAIL-ABLE NAME FOR THE SPECIES CURRENTLY REFERRED THERETO By L. B. HOLTHUIS {Rijkstmiseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden, The Netherlands) (Commission's reference Z.N.(S.)473) The present application relates to a generic name, Scyllarides Gill, 1898 (Class Crustacea, Order Decapoda), which is in general use, but which is not the oldest available name for the genus concerned. The ruthless application of the Regies in the present case would give rise to much quite unnecessary confusion, and I accordingly ask the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to prevent this confusion by using their plenary powers in such a way as to permit the continued use of the above generic name. The following are the original references to the generic names dealt with in the present application : — Scyllarides Gill, 1898, Science (n.s.) 7 : 98 (type species, by original designation : Scyllarus aequinoctialis Lund, 1793, Skr. naturh. Selsh. Kbh. (2) 2 : 21). Scyllaridia Bell, 1857, Monogr. foss. malacostr. Crust. Great Brit. 1 : .35 (type species, by monotypy : Scyllaridia koenigi Bell, 1857, Monogr. foss. malacostr. Crust. Great Brit. 1 : 35). Pseudibacus Guerin-Meneville, 1855, Rev. Mag. Zool. (2) 7 : 137 (type species, by monotypy: Pseudibacus veranyi Guerin-Meneville, 1855, Rev. Mac Zool. (2) 7 : 137). The name Scyllarides Gill. 1898, is the generally accepted name for a well-known genus of large Decapoda Macrura Eeptantia. Strictly, however, this name, though available nomenclatorially, is not, under current taxonomic ideas, available for the genus to which it is at present applied, for twice before the publication of Gill's paper, other authors published different names for genera, having, as their respective type species, species now regarded as congeneric vnt}i Scyllarus aequinoctialis Lund, the type species of Scyllarides Gill, 1898. First, Guerin-Meneville in 1855 described a new Crustacean from the Mediterranean under the name Pseudibacus varamji. Later, it was found that this Crustacean was the natant stage of the species at present best known as Scyllarides latus (Latreille, 1803) {=Scyllurus latus Latreille, 1803, Hist. nat. Crust. Ins. 6 : 182), a common inhabitant of the Mediterranean and West African coasts. The generic name Pseudibacus Guerin-Meneville, 1855. is the oldest available generic name for any of the species at present recognised as belonging to the genus Scyllarides Gill, 1898, and accordingly the latter name should be replaced by the name Pseudibacus Guerin-Meneville. Second, Bell in 1857 described a new genus of fossil Crustacea, for which
Proposed use of the plenary powers to render the generic name " Scyllarides " Gill,1898 (Class Crustacea, order Decapoda) the oldest available name for the species currently referred thereto
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