[Taxacom] Abbreviations/conventions in L. Agassiz' "Nomenclatoris Zoologici Index Universalis"

[Paul van Rijckevorsel]

A quick guess: When Agassiz is citing a name published
by somebody else he does so including an author citation.

When he includes a "Scr. ...", this apparently is a form
of the verb scribere and will mean something like "but I
am writing it ..." or "to be correctly written as ..."
to indicate the way it should have been composed,
given its derivation.

I don't have time to translate the preface, and the way he
uses the four signs, although it seems pretty clear that
the open circle is intended to indicate homonymy, and
the last two deal with orthography?

Paul

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Tony.Rees at csiro.au>
To: <Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2012 3:15 AM
Subject: [Taxacom] Abbreviations/conventions in L. Agassiz' "Nomenclatoris
Zoologici Index Universalis"


Dear Taxacomers,

I am trying to understand the abbreviations/conventions used in L. Agassiz'
"Nomenclatoris Zoologici Index Universalis" (original 1846 edition viewable
via http://books.google.com.au/books?id=AuIPAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover
although scholars normally now ascribe the date to 1847) as compared with
(say) equivalent names as reproduced in Neave's Nomenclator Zoologicus
(online version available at http://uio.mbl.edu/NomenclatorZoologicus/). For
example on the first page of names in the "Index", the third entry reads:

  Abaris Dej. Col. 1831. (Scr. Abarys).

(also quite a few others have variant spellings of this type, prefaced
"Scr.")

while the eleventh entry reads:

  Abia -- (V. Habia Less.) Aves

A little lower we then have:

  Ablepharis Coct. Rept. 1836 (Scr. Ablepharus).
  Ablepharus Fitz. Rept. 1824. (V. Ablepharis).

(I have omitted some italicisation present in the original as it will not
transmit via this list).

I am presuming that the abbreviation "Scr." means "scriptus" i.e. written,
and "V." means "vide" in other words "see".

Many/most names are also prefixed with either open or closed small circles
(similar to a degree symbol), the significance of which is explained in
latin on p. vi of the Preface, but I cannot yet understand.

Now when we check equivalent names in Neave's Nomenclator Zoologicus,
"Abarys", for example is therein ascribed to Agassiz 1846 Nomen. Zool. Index
Univ. with the note "(emend. pro Abaris Dejean 1831)", "Abia" similarly to
Agassiz 1846 as "(emend. pro Ha- Vieillot 1817)", Ablepharis Cocteau 1832 as
"(err. or emend. pro -rus Fitzinger 1823)", and Ablepharus simply as
Fitzinger 1823.

The reason for caring (at all) about these is that over 2,100 generic names
in Neave are credited to Agassiz 1846, Nomen. Zool. Index Univ. as the
authority, the vast majority as "emend. pro..." although from the above it
would seem mostly that he was recording alternative spellings under "Scr." -
or am I perhaps wrong here? In practical terms it does make a difference,
since emendations (justified or unjustified) are considered available names
and therefore enter homonymy, while simple errors (i.e. incorrect subsequent
spellings not intended as new names) do not.

(FYI the version of this work presently in BHL is the 1848 reprint which has
entirely different pagination, just to confuse, although the text is
otherwise essentially the same).

Any advice / alternative readings appreciated,

Regards - Tony

Tony Rees
Manager, Divisional Data Centre,
CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research,
GPO Box 1538,
Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
Ph: 0362 325318 (Int: +61 362 325318)
Fax: 0362 325000 (Int: +61 362 325000)
e-mail: Tony.Rees at csiro.au
Manager, OBIS Australia regional node, http://www.obis.org.au/
Biodiversity informatics research activities:
http://www.cmar.csiro.au/datacentre/biodiversity.htm
Personal info:
http://www.fishbase.org/collaborators/collaboratorsummary.cfm?id=1566
LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tony-rees/18/770/36



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