Bulletin of Zoologiciil Nomenclature 51(1) March 1994 25 Case 2861 ELMTOAE Curtis, 1830 and Elmis Latreille, 1802 (Insecta, Coleoptera): proposed conservation as correct spelling and of feminine gender respectively M.A. Jach Naturhistorisches Museum, Burgring 7, A-1014 Wien, Austria Abstract. The purpose of this application is to conserve the name elmidae Curtis, 1830 for a large family of waterbeetles of worldwide distribution, based on the genus Elmis Latreille, 1802. There have been a number of different family-group names based on this genus. 1. Latreille (1802, p. 398) established the generic name Elmis with one included species E. maugetii Latreille, 1802 (p. 400) which is the type species by monotypy. He did not state the derivation of the generic name or its gender. 2. The correct spelling and the nomenclatural stem of Elmis have long been the subject of controversy. In recent times Steyskal (1975, p. 59) argued that the stem was Elm-and the gender feminine, the correct family-group name being elmidae. Madge & Pope (1980) reviewed the history of the name Elmis and concluded (p. 257) that Elmis 'must be regarded as a modern Latin word, Elmis, Elmidis, m., coined by Latreille, but derived from ancient Greek'. The correct spelling of the family-group name would therefore be elmididae. 3. The first available family-group name based on Elmis Latreille is elmidae Curtis, 1830 (pi. 294). Madge & Pope (1980) argued that elmidae was an incorrect original spelling which, under the Code (Article 32d of the 1985 Edition), had to be corrected to elmididae with the date and authorship of the original spelling. I am aware of only two papers since 1980 in which the authors have followed Madge & Pope (1980) in adopting the spelling elmididae; these are Nilsson & Bondestad (1987) and Engblom, Lingdell & Nilsson (1990). On the other hand a large number of authors have since 1980 used the spelling elmidae (e.g. Brown, 1981; Jach, 1984; Sato, 1985; Spangler & Santiago-Fragoso, 1992; Kodada, 1993; a Hst of a further 30 papers by 21 different authors is held by the Commission Secretariat). Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge, no author has accepted the change of gender of Elmis to the masculine as proposed by Madge & Pope (1980). 4. Madge & Pope (1980) pointed out that, in addition to elmidae and elmididae there were a number of different family-group names which had been applied to the Riffle beetles, including; LIMNIIDAE Stephens, 1828 — unavailable under Article 1 If of the Code since, at the time of its proposal, Stephens regarded the name on which it was based (Limnius Illiger, 1802) as a junior synonym of Elmis Latreille. Thomson (1859, p. 21) made the name limniidae available, including Limnius and Elmis as separate genera. Wiezlak (1986) used the name limniidae but it is not otherwise in current use.
Case 2861. Elmidae Curtis, 1830 and Elmis Latreille, 1802 (Insecta: Coleoptera): proposed conservation as correct spelling and of feminine gender respectively
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