14 Bull. zool. Norn., vol. 42, pt 1, April 1985 COMMENT ON THE PROPOSAL CONCERNING BAGRUS BOSC, 1816, WITH REQUESTS TO PLACE 5/^G/?£CL0QUET, 1816 ON THE OFFICIAL LIST AND TO SUPPRESS PORCUS GEOFFROY SAINT-HILAIRE, 1808 Z.N.(S.)2371 (see vol. 40, pp. 167-172) By William R. Taylor {National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC 20560. U.S.A.) Bailey & Stewart, 1983, asked that Bagrus Bosc, September 1816, be placed on the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology. They presented evidence to show that Bagrus and Porcus Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in Bosc. September 1816 were described on the same date with Bagrus having page priority. Because Bagrus provides the stem of a well-known family name, and because it has had somewhat more usage, they requested its conservation by the Commission. 2. Aside from dates given by Sherbom, 1897, workers have not generally known the actual dates of publication of the contributions by Etienne and Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire to the Description de I'Egypte. The son, Isidore (1847), hsted the significant contributions by his father and himself to this work and gave dates of publication. It is now clear that Porcus should be attributed to Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and that it has several years' priority over Bagrus Bosc. Porcus first appeared on plate 15 of the Poissons du Nil issued in 1808; but the description of the genus was completed from his father's notes and published by Isidore in 1827. The folio-sized natural history plates in Description de I'Egypte were in many cases published years before written descriptions appeared; but the names on the plates are available by indication (Article 12a(7)). 3. Evidence that all the plates of Poissons du Nil were published and avail-able to Bosc, Cuvier, etc., prior to 1816 is as follows: (a) Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire stated ( 1 847, p. 425): 'La part de collab-oration de Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire dans le grand ouvrage sur I'Egypte, se compose des parties suivantes: Dans I'atlas, t. I" de la partie rela-tive a I'histoire naturelle: 1° 7 planches de Mammiferes (17 especes); 2° 8 de Reptiles (25 especes); 3° 17 de Poissons du Nil (29 especes); 4° 10 de Poissons de la Mediterranee et de la mer Rouge (28 especes). Ces magnifiques planches, dessinees par Redoute jeune, ... en Egypte, ... a Paris de 1802 a 1807, ont ete publiees, partie en 1808 (Poissons du Nil), partie en 1813 (Mammiferes et Reptiles), partie en 1817 (Poissons de la mer Rouge et de la Mediterranee). 'Dans le tome \" du texte de I'Histoire naturelle ... 1° Histoire naturelle des Poissons du Nil, 1809 [part]; ... 2" Description des Reptiles qui se trouvent en Egypte, 1809 [part]; ... 3° Description des Crocodiles d' Egypte, 1829. — Le texte des autres planches de Poissons et de Reptiles a ete publie, en 1827, par I'auteur de cet ouvrage, d'apres les notes de Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. 'Dans le tome II . . . Description des Mammiferes qui se trouvent en Egypte, 1813 [part]. . .' (b) In general agreement with Isidore's summary, Jomard in Monglond, 1957, columns 323-330, indicated that the 27 plates illustrating fishes were published from 1809-1817. I believe, however, that some of the dates for the text given by Jomard are probably in error. These dates were correctly stated by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire.
Comment on the proposal concerning Bagrus Bosc, 1816, with requests to place Bagre Cloquet, 1816 on the Official List and to suppress Porcus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1808 Z.N.(S.) 2371
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