Parazoanthus Haddon & Shackleton, 1891, and Parazoanthidae Delage
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Zootaxa 2995: 64–68 (2011) ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2011 · Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) Parazoanthus Haddon & Shackleton, 1891, and Parazoanthidae Delage & Hérouard, 1901: Conservation of usage by Reversal of Precedence with Bergia Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860, and Bergiidae Verrill, 1869 (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia) MARTYN E. Y. LOW1 & JAMES DAVIS REIMER2,3 1Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Sen- baru, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan. E-mail: [email protected] 2Molecular Invertebrate Systematics and Ecology Laboratory, Rising Star Program, Trans-disciplinary Organization for Subtropical Island Studies, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan; Marine Biodiversity Research Program, Institute of Biogeosciences, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima, Yokosuka, Kana- gawa 237-0061, Japan. E-mail: [email protected] 3Corresponding author Abstract The names Bergia Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860, and Bergiidae Verrill, 1869, are respectively, senior subjective syn- onyms of Parazoanthus Haddon & Shackleton, 1891, and Parazoanthidae Delage & Hérouard, 1901. The junior synonyms Parazoanthus and Parazoanthidae are in current and widespread use. In the interest of nomenclatural stability, we enact Articles 23.9.1 and 23.9.2 to reverse precedence of these names, thereby making Parazoanthus and Parazoanthidae nomi- na protecta, and Bergia and Bergiidae nomina oblita. Key words: Zoantharia, Zoanthidea, Article 23.9.1, Article 23.9.2, ICZN, nomenclature The family Parazoanthidae Delage & Hérouard, 1901, and its type genus Parazoanthus Haddon & Shackleton, 1891, are a group of zoanthids frequently epizoic on sponges or other benthic organisms (see Reimer & Sinniger 2010: 253). The genus Parazoanthus was established by Haddon & Shackleton (1891a: 633) with the type species Palythoa axinellae Schmidt, 1862, by original designation. In addition to the type species, at least nine other species are currently included in the genus (Appeltans et al. 2011): Parazoanthus anguicomus (Norman, 1869), Parazoanthus capensis Carlgren, 1938, Parazoanthus catenu- laris (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860), Parazoanthus darwini Reimer & Fujii, 2010, Parazoanthus dichroicus Haddon & Shackleton, 1891b, Parazoanthus elongatus McMurrich, 1904, Parazoanthus parasiticus (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860), Parazoanthus puertoricense West, 1979, and Parazoanthus swiftii (Duchassaing & Michel- otti, 1860) (Sinniger et al. 2010; Swain 2009). The family Parazoanthidae was established by Delage & Hérouard (1901: 665), with only the type genus included. Parazoanthidae now contains five genera (see Sinniger et al. 2010: 58). The family Parazoanthidae and the genus Parazoanthus are still undergoing revision (discussed in Sinniger et al. 2010), and the exact number of species in Parazoanthus is still a matter of debate. The genus Bergia was established by Duchassaing & Michelotti (1860: 54) for two new species, Bergia catenularis and Bergia vialactea. The family Bergiidae was established by Verrill (1869: 494), with the inclusion of only the type genus. Duerden (1903: 496) considered the two species of Bergia to be conspecific, using Bergia catenularis in favour of Bergia vialactea, and transferred Bergia catenularis to the genus Parazoanthus Haddon & Shackleton, 1891. The names Bergia Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860, and Bergiidae Verrill, 1869, are thus respec- tively, senior subjective synonyms of Parazoanthus Haddon & Shackleton, 1891, and Parazoanthidae Delage & Hérouard, 1901. 64 Accepted by M. Daly: 29 Jul. 2011; published: 15 Aug. 2011 The family Parazoanthidae and the genus Parazoanthus are in current and widespread use, with new genera and species of Parazoanthus having been recently described (e.g. Reimer & Fujii 2010; Sinniger et al. 2010). How- ever, the Principle of Priority (Article 23 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, hereafter the Code, ICZN 1999: 24) requires that the oldest available name for the taxon under consideration must be used. Replacing the names Parazoanthus and Parazoanthidae with Bergia and Bergiidae, respectively, is not in the interest of nomenclatural stability. To mediate the Principle of Priority, Article 23.9.1 of the Code (ICZN 1999: 27) allows for a reversal of precedence of a junior synonym when the senior synonym has not been used as a valid name after 1899 (Article 23.9.1.1) and the junior synonym “has been used for a particular taxon, as its presumed valid name, in at least 25 works, published by at least 10 authors in the immediately preceding 50 years and encom- passing a span of not less than 10 years” (Article 23.9.1.2). Since 1899, the name Bergia has been used in a small number of publications. Duerden (1900: 205) used the name twice; firstly as it was being used by workers at that point in time (without actually considering it valid), and secondly to note that Bergia was undoubtedly synonymous with Paraozoanthus. In Duerden (1903: 495, 496), the two species of Bergia are synonymized (with doubt regarding the family name Bergiidae being raised), and the spe- cies is transferred to Parazoanthus, again clearly showing that Duerden did not consider Bergia to be valid. Bergia was also mentioned in a footnote in Delage & Hérouard (1901:667), but this genus was described as “impossibles a classer” [= “impossible to classify”], and again this is not a clear usage of Bergia as a valid name. Pax (1910: 299), in a list of species of Parazoathus species, which he considered to be valid, listed “P. catenularis (Duch. & Mich.)” as a valid species, and briefly discussed that this species was originally described in the genus Bergia, with no dis- cussion about the latter’s validity. Finally, Volpi & Benvenuti (2003:66) reported on the collection of Duchassaing and Michelotti, and noted that a syntype of Bergia catenularis is extant. However, the same authors specifically stated that they were using the “original names”, with no effort being made to ascertain the valid names for the material (Volpi & Benvenuti 2003: 53). As Ng & Low (2010:37, 38) have argued, “valid usage” of a name must be unambiguous and show clearly that the author both considered it the correct name to be used and adopted the name. Duerden (1900, 1903) and Delage & Hérouard (1901) did not use Bergia and Bergiidae as valid names, and Volpi & Benvenuti (2003) simply reported on a specimen, and made no statement on the validity of Bergia. Thus, the names Bergia Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860, and Bergiidae Verrill, 1869, have not been used as the valid names for the taxa they denote since 1899 (thus fulfilling Article 23.9.1.1 of the Code). In the Appendix, we list 30 publications, by 69 authors in the past 33 years in which the names Parazoanthus Haddon & Shackleton, 1891, and Parazoanthidae Delage & Hérouard, 1901, have been used as valid names for the taxa they denote (thus fulfilling Article 23.9.1.2 of the Code). As both requirements of Article 23.9.1 are met, and in accordance with Article 23.9.2, the names Parazoanthus Haddon & Shackleton, 1891, and Parazoanthidae Delage & Hérouard, 1901, are considered valid names and take precedence over Bergia Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860, and Bergiidae Verrill, 1869. Parazoanthus Haddon & Shackleton, 1891, and Parazoanthidae Delage & Hérouard, 1901, now become nomina protecta and Bergia Duch- assaing and Michelotti, 1860, and Bergiidae Verrill, 1869, nomina oblita. If future research demonstrates that Parazoanthus catenularis is not referable to the genus Parazoanthus, the genus name Bergia and the family name Bergiidae remain available as outlined in Article 23.9.2 of the Code (ICZN 1999: 28) that allows “in the case of subjective synonymy, whenever the names are not regarded as syn- onyms the older name may be used as valid”. Acknowledgments Carey Ashworth (University of the Ryukyus, Japan) assisted in translating literature. The senior author was sup- ported in part by the Rising Star Program at the University of the Ryukyus. References Appeltans, W., Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., CONSERVATION OF THE NAME PARAZOANTHUS Zootaxa 2995 © 2011 Magnolia Press · 65 Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C. & Costello, M. (eds.) (2011). World Register of Marine Species. Accessed at http://www.marinespe- cies.org on 2011-07-14. Carlgren, O. (1938) South African Actiniaria and Zoantharia. Kungliga Svenska vetenskapsakademiens handlingar, ser. 3, 17 (3), 1–148, figs. 1–83, pls. 1–3. Daly, M., Brugler, M.R., Cartwright, P., Collins, A.G., Dawson, M.N., Fautin, D.G., France, S.C., McFadden, C.S., Opresko, D.M., Rodriguez, E., Romano, S.L. & Stake, J.L. (2007) The phylum Cnidaria: A review of phylogenetic patterns and diversity 300 years after Linnaeus. Zootaxa, 1668, 127–182. Delage, Y. & Hérouard, E. (1901) Zoanthidés. – Zoanthidae. Pp. 654–667, figs. 907–929, pls. 65, 66. In: Traité de Zoologie concrète. Tome II – 2e Partie. Les Coelentérés. C. Reinwald, Paris, x + [1] + 848 pp., figs. 1–1102, pls. 1–72. Duchassaing, P. de F. & Michelotti, J. (1860) Mémoire sur les Coralliaires des Antilles. Imprimerie Royale, Turin, 112 pp., pls. 1–11. [Note: This is separate of a publication with identical title and text in the Memorie della Reale Accademia delle Sci- enze di Torino, ser. 2, vol. 19, pp. 279–365, that appeared in 1861] Duerden, J.E. (1900) Jamaican Actiniaria. Part II – Stichodactylinae and Zoantheae. Scientific Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society, ser. 2, 7(6), 133–220, pls. 10–15. Duerden, J.E. (1903) West Indian sponge-incrusting [sic] actinians. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 19 (18), 495–503, pls. 44–47. Haddon, A.C. & Shackleton, A.M. (1891a) The Zoantheae. In: A revision of the British Actiniae. Part II. Reports on the zoo- logical collections made in the Torres Straits by A. C. Haddon, 1888–1889. Scientific Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society, ser. 2, 4(12), 609–672, pls. 58–60. [Published November 1891] Haddon, A.C.