46 Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 51(1) March 1994 In the second case (no. 2837/2), which involves the names Melanophila and Phaenops, the situation is not as clear-cut. Since the estabhshment of the name Phaenops by Dejean (1833), in the New World it was considered either as a synonym or as a subgenus of Melanophila Eschscholtz, 1829 for more than 100 years with few exceptions. Therefore, Miihle's contention that the name Melanophila has not been used since 1857 for species now considered under Phaenops is misleading, especially in relation to the literature on New World species. The recognition of Phaenops as a separate genus is recent enough (largely post-World War 11) that, of the more than 1 5 valid species in the Nearctic fauna, all were described under Melanophila except for two described earlier under Bupreslis. Phaenops was considered a subgenus of Melanophila as recently as 1987 by Bright. As Westcott has pointed out (BZN 50: 232 and above), the economic literature is rather extensive, as well as uniform, in referring to the pests belonging to this group under the generic name Melanophila. Apparently, Miihle missed noticing the paper by Nelson (1989) (cited by Westcott, BZN 50; 232) which dealt with the necessary changes to adjust to recognizing Bupestris cyanea Fabricius as the first designated type species of Melanophila. This would have those species most recently considered under Phaenops revert to Melanophila, under which most were described, and the species considered under Melanophila would be included under Oxypteris. This arrangement preserves intact the usage in the economic literature and was followed by Nelson (1993). I do not, therefore, concur with the proposals in this application. Additional references Bright, D.E. 1987. The metallic wood-boring beetles of Canada and Alaska. Coleoptera: Buprestidae. The insects and arachnids of Canada, part 15.335 pp. Biosystematic Research Institute, Ottawa. Nelson, G.H. 1993. Note on Oxypteris hungarica (Csiki) and a description of the female of Xenorhipis mexicana Nelson (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). The Coleoplerists' Bulletin, 47(2): 150. Comments on the proposed conservation of the specific name of Rivulus marmoratus Poey, 1880 (Osteichthyes, Cyprinodontiformes) (Case 2722; see BZN 47: 191-194; 48: 150-152) (1) Wilson J.E.M. Costa Laboratorio de Ictiologia Geral e Aplicada, Departamento de Zoologia e Biologia Marinha, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Universitdria, Cx. Postal 68049. 21944 Rio de Janeiro RJ. Brazil My work on the taxonomy of the Rivulus ocellatus species complex is progressing but is not yet complete. This very widespread group, which occurs from Florida to Santa Catarina (Brazil), comprises some very similar nominal species, such as R. ocellatus Hensel, 1868, R. marmoratus Poey, 1880, R. bonairensis Hoedeman, 1958 and R. caudomarginatus Seegers, 1984. No rigorous taxonomic studies have so far been made comparing material from the several different localities within this large area. I am not convinced that these nominal species represent a single taxonomic species, although I have not yet examined material from Cuba, one of the probable
BioStor
