Name-bearing Specimens Research Articles

Lyriothemis lucifera spec. nov. from the Andaman Islands, India (Odonata: Libellulidae)

Lyriothemis lucifera spec. nov. (holotype ♂: 18.iv.1998, Long Island, Rangat county, North and Middle Andaman district, Andaman Islands, India, ex.-coll. M. Hämäläinen, Wen-Chi Yeh, RMNH.INS. 1152914; deposited at Naturalis Biodiversity Centre Leiden, the Netherlands), is described and figured. This new species belongs to the 3rd group of Lyriothemis Brauer, 1868. Photographs of the name-bearing specimens of Lyriothemis magnificata (Selys, 1878), Lyriothemis daui Krüger, 1902, and Lyriothemis laui Krüger, 1902 are provided.

Invalid lectotypification for Synodontisvictoriae Boulenger, 1906 (Siluriformes, Mochokidae) by Poll (1971), and the designation of a new lectotype.

The lectotype and paralectotype of Synodontisvictoriae Boulenger, 1906, designated by Poll (1971), were examined. Inconsistencies between data presented for the designated lectotype and the illustrated individual raise the question of whether lectotypification by Poll is valid. This case is not formally regulated by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, but based on Article 74.5, the lectotypification for S.victoriae should be considered invalid because it cannot unambiguously indicate a single name-bearing specimen. Thus, we designate a new lectotype for S.victoriae (BMNH 1906.5.30.191, Entebbe, standard length 188.2 mm) out of two syntypes and provide illustrations and new morphometric and meristic data for both specimens.

Male-biased selection of holotypes in parasite taxonomy: is it justified?

When a new parasite species is identified, a name-bearing specimen or holotype is designated as its reference standard. For most acanthocephalans and nematodes, the holotype is male, a bias which lacks scientific justification. We propose ways of redressing this imbalance and achieving fuller representation of each species in museum collections.

Inventory of Cenozoic radiolarian species (Class Polycystinea) – 1834-2020

This paper presents, for the first time ever, a complete list of Cenozoic Polycystinea reported between 1834 and 2020. It records 6898 names of taxa originally described as new species or subspecies, assigned to the Class of Polycystinea, the most important group in the infraphylum Radiolaria. This list only attempts to provide an objective record of available and unavailable names, the latter including nomina oblita, nomina nuda, homonyms, invalid nomenclatorial acts, species wrongly described as Polycystinea and nomina dubia species with inexistent name-bearing specimens.

A new integrated morpho- and molecular systematic classification of Cenozoic radiolarians (Class Polycystinea) – suprageneric taxonomy and logical nomenclatorial acts

A revised taxonomy of Cenozoic radiolarian families is of particular importance because exhaustive molecular phylogenetic analyses for Collodaria, Entactinaria, Nassellaria and Spumellaria have shown high level of confidence at family or higher taxonomic ranks. In this sense, this study presents a new comprehensive taxonomy at the family level that integrated a classification based on ribosomal taxonomic marker genes (rDNA) and classical morphological taxonomy. However, many family names commonly used in Cenozoic radiolarians (Polycystinea) are derived from genera whose type species were never illustrated at the time of the generic definition. Obviously, in the vast majority of those cases, the “Principle of Typification” regulated in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN 1999: Art. 61) cannot be logically applied. This has contributed to a century-long misunderstanding about the validity of Cenozoic taxa (species, genera and/or family-group names) erected without any illustration or drawing of their types, in particular the huge contribution of Ernst Haeckel from samples of the Challenger expedition (1872-1876). Reexamination of Haeckel's collection definitively confirmed that all the original types series (the specimens on which Haeckel established the nominal species-group taxon) being nonextant; in other words, all name-bearing specimens (the types) are restricted to the illustrations given in Haeckel's drawings. Because “types” in taxonomy are precious things, a nominal species-group taxon lacking at all of illustration (or indication to a repository) do not ensure the recognition of the species. Following the rules and recommendations of the ICZN, these names should be excluded from all nomenclatorial and taxonomical acts. This revision presents the state of the art of all proposed family-group names (with full synonymy lists) for Cenozoic Polycystinea.The list of family-group nominal taxa and their names was inventoried from 6694 publications (89% of the whole known references on radiolarians). The references were examined in order to clarify and fix the status of family names; hence these family-group names were rigidly classified as: valid, junior synonym, nomen dubium, nomen nudum, homonym, and invalid names. A total of 372 family-group names were proposed for the Cenozoic. These consist of 94 valid family-groups, 118 junior synonym family-groups, 111 nomen dubium family-groups (mainly artificially created in a hypothetical conceptual framework), 6 junior homonym family-groups, 19 nomen nudum family-groups, as well as 24 invalid names. In addition, one nomen novum et four new families are presented. The description of 25 families have been also emended.This study also outlines the advantages of an integrated approach to taxonomy of Polycystinea by the combination of both morphological and molecular systematics. Based on molecular phylogenetic studies, the systematic classification proposed at suprageneric level is arranged as follows:a) Order Spumellaria: three Phylogenetic Molecular Lineages (PM Lineages = suborders), 13 superfamilies and 42 families;b) Order Entactinaria: one PM Lineage, five superfamilies and nine families;c) Order Nassellaria: four PM Lineages, 16 superfamilies and 37 families;d) Order Collodaria: three superfamilies and six families.

Type specimens in the molluscan collection of the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum, Florida, USA

This article lists and comments on the primary and secondary types represented in the collection of the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum (BMSM), on Sanibel, Florida, USA. The collection includes 464 type specimens, of which 15 are holotypes, representing 149 taxa, of which 145 are species and four subspecies. The BMSM collection is fully catalogued and posted online via the Museum’s website, in addition to iDigBio and GBIF. The publication of this annotated list intends to improve on the accessibility and promote this important group of name-bearing specimens, which includes, among other cases, types originating from orphaned collections and material poorly documented in the original descriptions. Eighty-two types were selected for illustration, and the photos of all BMSM types are available as part of the BMSM online collection catalog.

Unraveling the white-clothed Diestostemma Amyot & Serville: a taxonomic revision of the American sharpshooters of the D. bituberculatum complex (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)

The taxonomy of the Proconiini genus Diestostemma Amyot & Serville is revisited and the D. bituberculatum species complex is proposed to include D. bituberculatum (Signoret), D. rubriventris (Schmidt), and four new species. A revision of this species complex includes a new geographical record for D. rubriventris and description and illustration of three Ecuadorian and one Brazilian new species based on males and females: D. albinoi sp. nov. (Ecuador: Orellana Province), D. cavichiolii sp. nov. (Brazil: Mato Grosso State), D. gervasioi sp. nov. (Ecuador: Orellana Province), and D. olivia sp. nov. (Ecuador: Orellana Province). These species, all named as homages to the treehopper specialist Dr. Albino Morimasa Sakakibara and his former students, are very similar to D. bituberculatum in general appearance, differing mainly by the shape of the male and female terminalia, but also by slight aspects of the external morphology. The status of the name-bearing specimen of D. rubriventris is modified from lectotype to holotype. The study shows that the species diversity of Diestostemma is far from being entirely known. However, several old available names should be evaluated in a full revision context before description of other new species.

Lingering taxonomic confusion in Labeo (Actinopterygii: Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae): correcting the records and basis of type designations for seven Congolese species

Background. The concept of name-bearing specimens is pivotal for nomenclatural stability. Hence, correctly listing the type specimens and designating lecto- and neotypes are crucial elements in taxonomic revisions. While reviewing the Labeo Cuvier, 1816 taxa of the Congo basin, we encountered several differences between the lists of type specimens provided in the various revisions of the genus. The majority of problems were encountered with six nominal species of Labeo that were described by Boulenger in 1898: Labeo barbatus Boulenger, 1898; Labeo falcifer Boulenger, 1898 (later replaced by Labeo falcipinnis Boulenger, 1903); Labeo lineatus Boulenger, 1898; Labeo longipinnis Boulenger, 1898; Labeo macrostoma Boulenger, 1898; and Labeo velifer Boulenger, 1898. For four of these species: L. barbatus, L. lineatus, L. macrostoma, and L. velifer, different specimens appear in the literature as name-bearing types. Also for Labeo lividus Roberts et Stewart, 1975, previously a junior synonym of L. barbatus, and for Labeo altivelis Peters, 1852, a species described from the lower Zambezi but also present in the Congo basin, alternative lists of type specimens were mentioned in the literature. Materials and methods. The correct list of type specimens was compiled based on museum archives and on an examination of the type specimens. The validity of the lectotype designations was checked. When a lectotype designation proved to be ambiguous, the actions of the subsequent revisers were investigated. Results. We found that the correct lectotypes of L. barbatus, L. falcipinnis, L. lineatus, L. longipinnis, L. macrostoma, and L. velifer are: BMNH 1898.12.28:7, MRAC 17, BMNH 1897.9.30:27, MRAC 113, MRAC 35, and BMNH 1898.12.28:1, respectively. Also for L. lividus and L. altivelis, confusion existed on the type series and a corrected list of type specimens is presented. Conclusion. Especially in older species descriptions, a detailed list of studied specimens is often lacking. In such cases, providing a correct list of type specimens is often not a trivial task. This study shows that inaccurate lists of type specimens can lead to invalid taxonomic acts, which could have nomenclatural implications. We hope that increased efforts in the dissemination of basic taxonomic information will reduce such errors in the future.

A taxonomic revision of South American species of the seed-harvester ant genus Pogonomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Part I.

South American species in the seed-harvester ant genus Pogonomyrmex (subfamily Myrmicinae) are interesting biologically because of their numerous queen phenotypes and life histories. This paper provides a taxonomic revision and reviews the natural history for 21 South American species of Pogonomyrmex so that we can better study their rich and interesting ecology, life history, and evolution. Species treated herein comprise all South American species-groups except for the brevibarbis and rastratus-groups. The following taxa are raised to species: pencosensis Forel 1914 and serpens Santschi 1922. The following new synonomies are proposed: bruchi Forel 1913 is synonomized under coarctatus Mayr 1868 and cunicularius carnivora Santschi 1925 under serpens Santschi 1922. The following new species is described: tinogasta. This paper redescribes workers of all species, and I describe queens and diagnose males for the following species: bispinosus (ergatoid queen, male), inermis (queen, male), laticeps (male), lobatus (queen, male), micans (queen), naegelii (ergatoid queen), pencosensis (ergatoid queen), serpens (ergatoid queen), tinogasta (brachypterous queen), and uruguayensis (queen, male). A neotype was designated for the untraceable or possibly lost type of P. bispinosus, and a holotype or lectotype was designated from syntypes for all other previously described taxa in order to provide a single name-bearing specimen and to facilitate future taxonomic studies. Of the 21 species treated herein, five species have ergatoid (wingless) queens (bispinosus, cunicularius, pencosensis, serpens, mayri), two have brachypterous (short-winged) queens (mendozanus, tinogasta), and two have dimorphic queens (winged and ergatoid in naegelii, brachypterous and ergatoid in laticeps). I also provide keys for workers and queens (in English and Spanish), photographs of all castes, distribution maps, and a summary of known biology.

Middle to Upper Pleistocene Polycystine Radiolarians from Hole 902-C9001C, Northwestern Pacific

A continuous 740-kyr Quaternary sedimentary sequence containing abundant siliceous microfossils was recovered from Hole C9001C during the D/V Chikyu 2006 Mission off the Shimokita Peninsula, Japan. This region is characterized by mixed water reflecting the influences of one warm current (Tsugaru Current), one cold current (the Oyashio Current), and several intermediate and deep water masses. Polycystine radiolarians (a siliceous microfossil group) are useful for reconstructing paleoceanographic changes in this region during the Quaternary because of their ecological properties in these types of deep-sea sediments. This paper illustrates and reviews the taxonomic features of all the polycystine species encountered during this study. A detailed taxonomy is presented because different taxonomic names have been applied, even to the same morphospecies, in many cases. The taxonomic classification of 104 species belonging to three orders (Collodaria, Spumellaria, and Nassellaria), 16 superfamilies, 33 families, and 66 genera was verified by comparison of the holotypes and the relevant name-bearing specimens in accordance with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature to the extent possible. The taxonomic classification system was updated with reference to both recent morphological taxonomic schemes and molecular phylogenetic analyses. This paper also provides a detailed synonym list of each previously illustrated species from the northwestern Pacific Ocean in order to standardize applicable taxonomic names for the same morphospecies. In addition, a new family (Amphisphaeridae Suzuki fam. nov.) and a new replacement name (Lithelius haeckelispiralis Matsuzaki and Suzuki, nomen nov. for Lithelius spiralis of Haeckel in 1861 [not Ehrenberg in 1840]) are described, and the diagnoses of the genus Tholomura and the family Lychnocaniidae are emended.

Lectotype designations and new synonymies in the Neotropical bee genus Centris Fabricius, 1804 (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Ten name-bearing specimens of Centris Fabricius deposited in the Hungarian Natural History Museum are examined and nine lectotypes are designated for the following species: C. atripes Mocsáry, 1899; C. flavilabris boliviensis Mocsáry, 1899; C. facialis Mocsáry, 1899; C. fusciventris Mocsáry, 1899; C. mariae Mocsáry, 1896; C. minuta Mocsáry, 1899; C. obsoleta pleuralis Friese, 1901; C. proxima Friese, 1899, and C. vidua Mocsáry, 1899. Two names are newly established as synonyms: C. nitida geminata Cockerell, 1914 syn. nov. = C. facialis Mocsáry, 1899; C. pleuralis Friese, 1901 syn. nov. = C. obsoleta Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1841. Comments on the repository of the holotype of C. horvathi Friese are also provided.

Case 3660Antilope arabicaLichtenstein, 1827 (currentlyGazella arabica; Mammalia, Ruminantia): proposed conservation of part of the lectotype designated by Neumann (1906)

The purpose of this application, under Articles 74 and 81 of the Code, is to maintain the usage of the name Gazella arabica (Lichtenstein, 1827) for a gazelle from central and southern Arabia. The lectotype designated by Neumann in 1906, consisting of a skull and skin, has been found to be composite and it is proposed that only the skin be retained as the name-bearing specimen. The holotype of Gazella arabica rueppelli Neumann, 1906, consisting also of a skull and skin, is also composite and only the skin is now retained as the name-bearing specimen, rendering the name rueppelli a junior synonym of G. gazella (Pallas, 1766).

A revision of Pheidole Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the islands of the southwest Indian Ocean and designation of a neotype for the invasive Pheidole megacephala.

The myrmicine genus Pheidole Westwood is revised for the smaller islands of the Southwest Indian Ocean: Comoros, Juan de Nova Island, Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion, and the Seychelles. Descriptions and keys are provided for the thirteen species on these islands of which seven are newly described: P. decepticon sp. n., P. dodo sp. n., P. komori sp. n, P. loki sp. n., P. megatron sp. n., P. ragnax sp. n., P. vulcan sp. n.; and six were previously described: P. braueri Forel, P. fervens Smith, F., P. jonas Forel, P. megacephala (Fabricius), P. parva Forel, and P. teneriffana Forel. New synonymies (with the senior synonym listed first) include P. parva Mayr = P. flavens var. farquharensis Forel, P. parva Mayr = P. tarda Donisthorpe, P. megacephala (Fabricius) = P. picata Forel, P. megacephala (Fabricius) = P. punctulata r. gietleni Forel, 1905, P. megacephala (Fabricius) = P. picata var. bernhardae Emery, 1915, P. megacephala (Fabricius) = P megacephala r. scabrior Forel, and P. teneriffana Forel = P. voeltzkowii Forel. Furthermore, lectotypes are designated from the syntypes of P. braueri, P. fervens, P. jonas, P. parva, and P. teneriffana in order to provide a single name-bearing specimen and to facilitate future taxonomic studies. Finally, a neotype is provided for the untraceable or possibly lost type of the cosmopolitan and invasive P. megacephala, which was originally described by Fabricius from Mauritius (the former 'Ile de France').

More slug(gish) science: Another annotated catalogue on types of tropical pulmonate slugs (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the collection of the Natural History Museum Berlin

While the most fundamental question as to how many species inhabit the earth still remains to be one of the enigmatic aspects of biodiversity, it continues to be the challenge for systematists to cope with taxonomic redundancy. Synonymies, being in the past essentially produced due to the dominating typological approach to deal with morphological disparity and taxonomical diversity, are at the heart of this problem. Therefore, the type procedure established as nomenclatural practice has not lost its usefulness. Quite to the contrary, types as name-bearing specimens deserve our full attention, more today than ever before. Supplementing a preceeding paper on a total of 43 extant types of mostly vaginulid and agriolimacid slugs originally described by the German zoologist Heinrich Simroth, we in this second catalogue compile information on other tropical slugs in the Malacozoological Collection of the Museum of Natural History in Berlin. We here list a total of 36 slug types described by several other authors, with the majority being again Vaginulidae (n = 30). In addition, information on six types of slugs from three other families, viz. Limacidae (3), Urocyclidae (2), and Agriolimacidae (1), are given, following a brief account with biographic information on those collectors who have contributed the majority of this type collection of vaginulids and related slugs. We end with a brief discussion of the geographic occurrence of these taxa involved. (© 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

DNA Barcoding Reveals Cryptic Diversity in Lumbricus terrestris L., 1758 (Clitellata): Resurrection of L. herculeus (Savigny, 1826)

The widely studied and invasive earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris L., 1758 has been the subject of nomenclatural debate for many years. However these disputes were not based on suspicions of heterogeneity, but rather on the descriptions and nomenclatural acts associated with the species name. Large numbers of DNA barcode sequences of the cytochrome oxidase I obtained for nominal L. terrestris and six congeneric species reveal that there are two distinct lineages within nominal L. terrestris. One of those lineages contains the Swedish population from which the name-bearing specimen of L. terrestris was obtained. The other contains the population from which the syntype series of Enterion herculeum Savigny, 1826 was collected. In both cases modern and old representatives yielded barcode sequences allowing us to clearly establish that these are two distinct species, as different from one another as any other pair of congeners in our data set. The two are morphologically indistinguishable, except by overlapping size-related characters. We have designated a new neotype for L. terrestris. The newly designated neotype and a syntype of L. herculeus yielded DNA adequate for sequencing part of the cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI). The sequence data make possible the objective determination of the identities of earthworms morphologically identical to L. terrestris and L. herculeus, regardless of body size and segment number. Past work on nominal L. terrestris could have been on either or both species, although L. herculeus has yet to be found outside of Europe.