Neothyone Deichmann, 1941

Thandar, A. S. & Arumugam, P., 2022, Referral of Thyone neofusus Deichmann, 1941, Thyone adinopoda (Pawson & Miller, 1981 and Havelockia obunca (Lampert, 1885) to the genus Sclerothyone Thandar, 1990, and a replacement name for the preoccupied genus Neothyone Deichmann, 1941 (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea: Dendrochirotida), Zootaxa 5219 (1), pp. 65-71 : 69-70

Genus Lisacucumis nomen nov. (replacement name for junior homonym Neothyone Deichmann, 1941 )

Stolus Selenka (partim) 1867: 356.

Thyone (partim) Ludwig, 1886 ( 1887).

Neothyone Deichmann, 1941: 108 ; Panning, 1949: 458 [homonym of Neothyone Hampson, 1914 , in lepidopteran family Arctiidae ].

Diagnosis (after Deichmann 1941). A genus of medium-sized dendrochirotid holothuroids with a thick body wall, packed with ossicles.. Tube feet numerous, distributed over entire body. Tentacles 10, ventral pair reduced. Plates of calcareous ring subdivided, with radial plates carrying short to medium-sized, fragmented, posterior processes, in some species fairly short and soft, often inwardly curled, thereby escaping notice. Ossicles of body wall a superficial layer of buttons with spinous projections on one side and an inner handle on the other, transformed into reticulated baskets in one species, in some cases lost with advancing age, and an inner layer of numerous, mostly 4-holed knobbed, sometimes smooth, buttons. Supporting tables of tube feet numerous, spire present or reduced; endplates present. Tentacle ossicles as heavy plates or rods. Introvert supported by tables or reduced buttons (plates) and/or tables.

Remarks. Arumugam (2011) pointed out that the nomen Neothyone Deichmann, 1941 is preoccupied, having been used by Hampson (1914) for a group of moths belonging to the lepidopteran family Arctiidae , antedating Deichmann’s Neothyone by some 27 years. Hence, to replace this junior homonym, she proposed the nomen Lisacucumis nomen nov., which is here formally published with Stolus gibber Selenka, 1867 , designated by Deichmann (1941) for Neothyone , as the type species of the new genus.

Type species: Stolus gibber Selenka, 1867 (designated for Neothyone by Deichmann,1941).

Type locality: Acapulco , Mexico .

Etymology: The new name proposed is in honour of the late Dr Elisabeth Deichmann for her excellent contributions to the taxonomy of the Holothuroidea.

Distribution: East Pacific (from Peru, through Costa Rica to Mexico, from shallow water to several meters.

Other species included: Thyone panamensis Ludwig, 1886 ( 1887) ; Neothyone gibbosa Deichmann, 1941 . However, since the erection of Neothyone , several other species were referred to it but of these N. belli ( Ludwig, 1887) and N. capensis (Théel, 1886) , have been transferred to other genera, whereas those species/subspecies referred to it by Domantay (1953) have been declared either nomina nuda and one as nomen dubiosus by WoRMS (accessed May 24, 2022). Thus, currently only three species remain, all are well-keyed by Deichmann (1941).

Remarks: Deichmann (1941) referred only 3 species to Neothyone . While Selenka’s (1867) description of the type species is rather brief and not accompanied by any illustration, that of Ludwig’s (1886, 1887) Thyone similis (a synonym of N. gibber according to Deichmann, 1941), clearly indicates that this species is referable to the synonymy of N. gibber . Panning (1949), in his revision of the family Cucumariidae , transferred Neothyone to Sclerodactylinae but, like Deichmann (1941), was also unaware that this name was preoccupied. Neothyone is included by WoRMS (accessed May 24, 2022) in the subfamily Thyoninae but gives Thyonidae (sensu Smirnov 2012) as an alternative representation, which is here used.