Date:         Mon, 3 Sep 2007 19:21:58 -0400
Reply-To:     Conchologists List <CONCH-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sender:       Conchologists List <CONCH-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Allen Aigen <serirach@JUNO.COM>
Subject:      Re: whelk nomenclature
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;

Andrew,
The Busycon group has been subdivided by Ed Petuch quite extensively.
Apparently  you are unaware of this, but if you choose to ignore it
rather than refute it, your arguments are simply outdated.  Ed does have
a tendency to name varieties (especially if you are correct and all the
modern sinistral forms back to the Pliocene are one species), but there
are at least five named dextral Busycon sensu stricto species (pre
Petuch) and (as of 1994) eight species and subspecies named by Petuch.
By your argument they are all B. carica varieties, or dextral B.
perversum varieties!

Lindafulgur Petuch 2004 includes L. candelabrum (Lamarck 1816) and L.
lyonsi (Petuch 1987), both from the Gulf of Mexico, L. alencasterae
(Perriat. 1963), Miocene, Mexico, L. miamiensis (Petuch, 1991), and L.
lindajoyceae (Petuch, 1994), both Pliocene, Florida.

Busycoarctum Hollister, 1958, includes the modern B. coarctatum as well
as the Pliocene B. rapum (Heilprin 1886),  B. tudiculatum (Dall 1890).

 Sinistrofulgur, which Petuch uses as the genus of sinistral whelks,
includes at least five Pre-Petuch species, and twelve which Ed named.
These are too subdivided for my taste, but the group has been evolving
significantly separately from the dextral forms for millions of years.


Pyruella planulatum (Dall, 1890) is typical of the Petuch genus Pyruella,
small to medium sized dextral Pliocene forms without spines but with a
shallow sutural depression.  There are at least four pre-Petuch species,
and eighteen species and subspecies named by Petuch!

Fulguropsis spiratum (Lamarck, 1816), which has at least twelve extinct
named relatives (five not named by Petuch) is not that closely related to
Busycotypus.  Coronafulgur Petuch, 2004, a Miocene group of five species
previously put in Busycotypus, is the apparent predecessor.  There are
also other extinct genera which should be taken into account, like
Spinifulgur and Brachysycon.

Allen Aigen  NYC
SeriRach@Juno.com
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