Thank you Harry and Fabio,
AFS SP 16/26 - is my short for:
American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 16 (= 1st ed) / 26 (= 2nd
ed) (your Turgeon, Quinn et al.)
Me thinketh my #2 etymology of the AFS name should stand ...
The Texas State Shell came around before AFS SP 16/26. It was legislated as
the official common name, and too bad Turgeon et. al. did not catch that,
especially considering the big point in creating the AFS SP 16/26 is to give
law makers a common point of reference. Given that, the AFS name for it
should have been the Texas Lightning Whelk or Pulley's Lightning Whelk.
The process for a Texas State Shell started in 1965 or 66 by the San Antonio
Shell Club, and finally came in to Act with a big push through the
Brazosport Museum of Natural Science (Sea Shell Searchers of Brazoria
County) / Mildred Tate, Curator of Malacology, in April 1987. ... 20 hard
years.
Here is a Houston Museum of Natural Science article on The State Shell &
Wise et. al. 2004.
www.hmns.org/files/marketing/LoneStarShell.pdf
Leslie
-----Original Message-----
From: Fabio Moretzsohn [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2007 11:36 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [CONCH-L] Texas State Shell
Hi Leslie
The question of the correct name for the Texas State Shell is indeed a
complicated one.
As you may be aware, I have been working with Dr. Tunnell on a large project
on the biota of the Gulf of Mexico (known as "Bulletin 89 50-year update"),
and we are finally finishing up now. Gary Rosenberg was the lead author of
the gastropod chapter, and he considered Busycon pulleyi as a separate
species from B. perversum, based on his interpretation of Wise et al.'s
paper. Gary came to a different conclusion from John, saying that instead of
being synonyms, the two should be considered as separate species, because
the DNA difference stated in the paper is 2%, in addition to many reports of
both taxa occurring in sympatry in the NW GOM, therefore they should not be
considered subspecies but rather separate species.
We are following most of the taxonomy of what Gary did for Bulletin 89 in
our Texas Seashell book, but we have not made a final decision on the
Lightning Whelk. We know it will be controversial, not matter which name we
use. What I have heard is that it would take an act of the Texas State
Legislature, as Harry mentioned, to change the species name of the Lightning
Whelk, either to B. perversum or B. pulleyi, just like Alabama would need to
change their state shell to simply Scaphella junonia (as S. j. johnstoneae
is considered a synonym). And that the legislature is too busy to change the
name of the state shell (in addition to the argument that Harry mentioned:
what if a latter study shows that the name should change again).
Thanks,
Fabio
-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Harry G. Lee
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2007 10:40 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] Texas State Shell
Dear Leslie,
Although I'm a little tempted to give you credit for the etymology of the
vernacular name, it is that given by Turgeon, Quinn et al. (1998: 96), and
it probably refers top the structure of the shell's shoulder spines. I don't
know what "12/26" means other than Boxing Day in Canada, but "AFS" means
American Fisheries Society, and that is the authority I cite (full reference
below). Not long ago this forum hosted a discussion of the merits of a
homogenization of English common names for North American mollusks. On the
other hand, the authorities you cite for "Lightning Whelk" seem to have been
vindicated by the recent twist of (taxonomic) fate.
I suspect the best way to handle the molecular genetics-based subordination
by Wise et al. (2004) of this species to a mere form of B. perversum
sinistrum Hollister, 1958 is to let it continue to stand as the name of the
Texas State Shell for the present. If, for instance, this nominal taxon were
dubbed the type of a new generic unit, it would be know thus for perpetuity
regardless of synonymy, homonymy, and other nomenclatorial detractions.
I think the authority here is the Texas State Legislature, and they will
likely require a little coaching - perhaps best timed for after the next
election, which may bring a more liberal group to power in Austin. A
legislator might then
ask: "What happens if a group of molecular taxonomists (known to classical
taxonomists and others as "gel jockeys") comes along in 2014 and resurrects
B. pulleyi based on a more inclusive set of characters? Will we look foolish
for having been hasty in amending Statute ....?"
Harry
Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg,
W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B.
Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione and J. D. Williams, 1998.
Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States
and Canada: mollusks, 2nd edition. American Fisheries Society, Special
Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland.
Wise, J., M. G. Harasewych, and R. T. Dillon, Jr., 2004. Population
divergence in the sinistral whelks of North America, with special reference
to the east Florida ecotone. Marine Biology 145(6): 1176-1179. Nov.
-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Leslie Allen Crnkovic
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2007 9:55 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [CONCH-L] Texas State Shell
Harry, Bill, et. al.
I looked at the JaxShells page on state shells .... very nice indeed!
However concerning: The Texas State Shell - Busycon perversum pulleyi
Hollister, 1958 ... When did our State shell become the "Prickly Whelk"?
We ... The Texans (Shell Collectors, Clubs, State Legislature, and Texas
Shells Book), have always referred to it as just the "Lightning Whelk".
1) Is this one of those AFS SP 16/26 subjugations?
2) Is it because we Texans are all a bunch of Pr...'s ?
3) Also, B. p. pulleyi has been synonymized... How does that affect it?
(Wise, Harasewych, Dillon 2004)
By the way, there is a very difficult to obtain paper by Pulley on Busycon.
Last year I managed to acquire a copy and have considered scanning it if
anyone is interested in an e-copy.
Pulley, T. E. - 1959 Busycon perversum (Linné) and Some Related
Species,
Vol 46(1): 70-89, 9 figs., The Rice Institute Pamphlet, Houston, TX,
April, 1959.
Thanks,
Leslie Crnkovic
Houston, Texas
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