Abstract
Background and aims – The blue pigmented diatom, Haslea ostrearia (Gaillon) Simonsen, which has been the material object for many physiological and ecological studies, was first described from oyster ponds in France as Vibrio ostrearius Gaillon; however, his study material seems not to be conserved.
 Methods – A thorough search to retrieve potential available historical collections has been conducted.
 Key results – It has been proven that no relevant historical material exists for H. ostrearia. Thus, an oyster pond at Bouin in Baie de Bourgneuf, France, was sampled in 2018 to obtain material allowing neotype designation.
 Conclusion – Slides and stubs have been deposited as neotype material of the species in the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France (PC). At the same time, this material is the generitype of the genus Haslea Simonsen. Furthermore, isoneotypes have been deposited at the British Museum (BM) and the Bremerhaven Hustedt collection (BRM).
Highlights
Recognized officially as contributing to the greening of oysters in fattening ponds along the French coast since the pioneering observations by Gaillon (1820a), the well-known blue diatom, Haslea ostrearia (Gaillon) Simonsen, has attracted the attention of many researchers
We looked for material of ‘Navicula ostrearia’ in the collections left by Bory [de Saint-Vincent], in particular in the cryptogam herbarium (PC) of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris
We extended our investigations to other European institutions that could possibly have hosted material, including any material duly identified as Haslea ostrearia and corresponding to the blue diatom described by Gaillon, such as the Herbarium of the Natural History Museum (BM) in London, UK and the Hustedt Diatom Study Centre (BRM) at the Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung in Bremerhaven, Germany
Summary
Recognized officially as contributing to the greening of oysters in fattening ponds along the French coast since the pioneering observations by Gaillon (1820a), the well-known blue diatom, Haslea ostrearia (Gaillon) Simonsen, has attracted the attention of many researchers (for a complete record of works dealing with this species up to the end of the second millennium, see Briée 2010). In search of existing Vibrio ostrearius, Navicula ostrearia or Haslea ostrearia materials
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