Martiniportella, Liebau, 2020

Liebau, Alexander, 2020, Martiniportella nom. nov., pro Notopleura Liebau, 1991 non Krauss, 1902, Zootaxa 4722 (1), pp. 99-100 : 99

Martiniportella nom. nov., pro Notopleura Liebau, 1991 non Krauss, 1902

ALEXANDER LIEBAU

Eichenweg 1, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany. E-mail: [e-mail]

Notopleura Liebau, 1991 (Crustacea, Ostracoda, Hemicytheridae ) established as a subgenus of Thaerocythere Hazel, 1967 with the type species Thaerocythere (Notopleura) lusitanica Liebau, 1991 , is a younger homonym of Notopleura Krauss, 1902 ( Insecta, Orthoptera , Acrididae ). It is here replaced by the new name Martiniportella , which refers to the harbour of São Martinho do Porto ( Portugal), where the extant specimens came from.

Additional discussions and corrections may concern the subgenus role (or even genus level, as it is preferred here) and the identity of the type species. Wood & Whatley (1997: 11) refrained from using the subgeneric unit Notopleura (in the sense of Liebau) in their study of Thaerocythere s.l. in order to avoid (if here correctly understood) division of the whole genus into a number of monospecific subgenera, which according to these authors would only cause additional complications.

In contrast to this opinion it is to be stated that the type species of Thaerocythere s.s. and Martiniportella nom. nov. differ in their surface ornament to such a degree that according to current taxonomic standards (see e.g. the revision of the Hiltermanniini in Wood (2005)) the generic separation of the taxa in question would not cause any problems. This is also supported by the attempts to reconstruct the phylogenetic relations within Thaerocythere s.l.: the lineages terminating in the two living type species are separate in Liebau (1991: 71) as well as in Wood & Whatley (1996: Fig. 4).

In Liebau (1991) the author saw a possibility to differentiate between the extant Martiniportella species and the similar fossil species Thaerocythere hoptonensis described from a questionable Quaternary level met with in the Hopton Cliff at the coast E of Norwich ( Great Britain). With reference to the figured type material of Cythere hoptonensis Brady, Crosskey & Robertson, 1874 in Wood & Whatley (1997 : pl. 2) this opinion is to be corrected: Thaerocythere (Notopleura) lusitanica Liebau, 1991 , is here regarded as a younger synonym of Martiniportella hoptonensis (Brady et al., 1874) .

Background information: The taxa mentioned belong to the cytherocopine ostracodes with reticulate ornaments, which reflect epidermal cell patterns. The reticulation of the adult stage normally indicates a case of cell constancy. Thaerocythere crenulata and Martiniportella hoptonensis , however, are the only living ostracodes described as yet with additional partitionings for two neighbouring epidermal cells (in “standard” reticulations represented by the cell-reflecting meshes M1 and M2). Under this aspect juvenile stages are of special interest—like those found together with the type of “ Notopleura lusitanica ”.

In this context it should be remembered that the synonymy lusitanica-hoptonensis is just a subjective one: every character of taxonomical importance discovered in the living ( lusitanica ) population is also valid for the fossil ( hoptonensis ) one—or both are to be treated as separate units again, reinstalling “ lusitanica ” at a subspecies or species level. In other words, the original preference of the Recent population for the typification remains decisive for the concept of the genus Martiniportella in spite of the name changes at the species and genus levels.

Systematics

Subclass Ostracoda Latreille, 1806

Order Podocopida Sars, 1866

Suborder Cytherocopina Gründel, 1967

Infraorder Nomocytherinina Liebau, 1991

Superfamily Trachyleberidoidea Sylvester-Bradley, 1948

Family Hemicytheridae Puri, 1953

Subfamily Thaerocytherinae Hazel, 1967

Genus Martiniportella Liebau nom. nov.

Species Martiniportella hoptonensis (Brady, Crosskey & Robertson, 1874)