Alcyonium bursa L. Syst. Nat.

Van Soest, Rob W. M. & Plotkin, Alexander, 2021, Alcyonium bursa Linnaeus, 1758 is not a sponge, Zootaxa 4951 (1), pp. 193-200 : 193

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4951.1.12
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4681130
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/85294C5A-4420-FFD4-FF5C-FB5CFA4FFA17
treatment provided by	Plazi (2021-04-01 08:12:46, last updated 2024-11-29 17:58:16)
scientific name	Alcyonium bursa L. Syst. Nat.
status

Treatment

“ 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.

References

Brodie, J., Maggs, C. A. & John, D. M. (2007) Green seaweeds of Britain and Ireland. British Phycological Society, London, 250 pp.

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