GILBERT: FISHES OF THE SUBGENUS LUXILUS


and jaws even; type L. cornutus." In Coccotis he proposed to include
"rather large species, with the scales less closely imbricated, but still
deeper than long; dorsal behind ventrals and lower jaw projecting;
type L. coccogenis." The third subgenus, Alburnops, he described
as "small species with the scales normal; the jaws equal and the dor-
sal somewhat behind the ventrals; type L. blennius."
 The name Coccotis was not used for many years, and its existence
was overlooked by Cockerell and Callaway (1909) when they erected
the subgenus Coccogenia for the sole reception of N. coccogenis,
based entirely on a supposed difference in the character of its scales.
The name has not been used since.
 Jordan and Gilbert (1883) combined all the forms now considered
to belong to Notropis and which have 2,4-4,2 teeth into the genus
Minnilus. As extensive variation in dental arrangement exists among
closely related species of Cyprinidae (Gibbs, 1957: 186), this scheme
of classification was unrealistic and resulted in the splitting of a
number of natural groups.
 Jordan (1884: 284) again referred cornutus and its related forms,
including coccogenis, to Luxilus. Gilbert (1884b: 210) proposed that
Notropis Rafinesque (1818) replace Minnilus as the generic name for
a number of species previously referred to many separate genera.
In this Jordan (1885b: 810-814) concurred and published a subgeneric
classification to distinguish the various groups within Notropis.
 This system was followed with minor changes by virtually all
ichthyologists until 1929, when Jordan again split Notropis and ele-
vated its numerous subgenera to full generic status. He again re-
garded Luxilus as a genus for cornutus and its closest relatives, but
he placed N. coccogenis, solely on the basis of scale characters, in the
genus Hydrophlox, an artificial group containing a number of unre-
lated species.
 Jordan, Evermann and Clark (1930) retained Luxilus as a genus.
 They also resurrected as a genus Jordan's Coccotis, which had been
 proposed as a subgenus 48 years earlier, and placed in it the species
 coccogenis, zonistius, zonatus, brimleyi, and macdonaldi. No reasons
 were given for setting up this group.
 Few compilers and no practicing ichthyologists have followed
 either Jordan's or Jordan, Evermann and Clark's classification con-
 sistently. No structural or other basis has been discovered for a
 meaningful division at the generic level of this young and cohesive
 group. The current trend is to defer judgment on the relationships
 between the various subgenera of Notropis until a thorough system-
 atic study is made of the entire genus.