350 Mr. O. Thomas on the Types of the XXX VL — The. Types of the Mammals described by M. Femand Lataste. By Oldfield Thomas. (Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) By a most liberal-minded act of generosity M. Fernand Lataste, whose papers on Algerian and other mammals have made his name well known to all workers on the subject, has recently presented the whole of his fine collection of mammals and reptiles to the British Museum — a most valuable and highly appreciated accession. In the collection there are the original specimens of practi-cally all the species described by Lataste ; but it was not the habit of workers at the date he wrote to particularize their type-specimens, and many — in fact, the majority — of the species are represented by numerous examples, often from different localities, and sometimes by individuals which have been kept alive in Paris and bred there ; so that their descendants have in some cases been distributed as representing the species described. Under these circumstances, both for the clearing up of any questions that might arise as to types and to facilitate the incorporation of the more important wild-killed individuals in the Museum collection, I have thought it wise to give a list. of the species described by Lataste, to give the catalogue and register numbers of the types when these are single, and, when thpy are multiple, formally to nominate lectotypes for each species from the original series. The collection being accompanied by an admirable and complete numbered catalogue, we have accepted the numbers of that catalogue as the Museum register numbers, the usual 3'ear, month, and day numbers 19. 7. 7. being placed in front of them. Thus, Lataste* s no. 1234 now becomes B.M. no. 19. 7. 7. 1234. Reference to the catalogue is thereby facilitated, while the additional labelling required is reduced to a minimum. Vesperugo ( Vesperus) innesi, Lat. (now TJjstesicus innesi). Ann. Mus. Genov. (2) iv. p. 625 (1887). Hab. Cairo. Based on two specimens, £ and ? , in spirit. Lectotype. Female, B.M. no. 19. 7. 7. 3528. Lectopara-type, the male, now in the Genoa Museum.
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