Alcyonium bursa L. Syst. Nat.

• Main Authors: Van Soest, Rob W. M., Plotkin, Alexander
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2021
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Cnidaria; Anthozoa; Alcyonacea; Alcyoniidae; Alcyonium; Alcyonium bursa; North Pole
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4681129; https://zenodo.org/record/4681129

“ Alcyonium bursa L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 1: 803. 1758 [= Webberella bursa (L.): Porifera ]— Type status unknown. Note . Alcyonium bursa is the basionym for a sponge (M. Spencer-Jones, pers. comm.). The sole known extant original material, an illustration in Ellis (1755: t.17,f. B,C & D.), represents a form of polyp-forming animal. However, Alcyonium bursa has also, though erroneously, been treated by phycologists as the basionym for the green alga Codium bursa the correct authorship for the latter name is C. bursa (Olivi) C.Agardh (Brodie et al ., 2007: 190).” This statement contains several clear errors and we believe it is scientifically and nomenclaturally incorrect. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that Linnaeus’ Alcyonium bursa is not the basionym of any sponge known to us. : Published as part of Van Soest, Rob W. M. & Plotkin, Alexander, 2021, Alcyonium bursa Linnaeus, 1758 is not a sponge, pp. 193-200 in Zootaxa 4951 (1) on page 193, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4951.1.12, http://zenodo.org/record/4655601 : {"references": ["Ellis, J. (1755) An Essay towards a Natural History of the Corallines and other Marine Productions of the like Kind commonly found on the Coasts of Great Britain and Ireland to which is added the Description of a large Marine Polype taken near the North Pole, by the Whale-fishers, in the Summer of 1753. A. Millar, London, xxviii + 103 pp., XXXIX pls. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 10146", "Brodie, J., Maggs, C. A. & John, D. M. (2007) Green seaweeds of Britain and Ireland. British Phycological Society, London, 250 pp."]}