Dear Harry,
I must admit that I was quite surprised to find the use of papillosa as the senior synonym for this species. I looked in Snyder just really to get his take on the generic names. I do not work with fasciolariids but am familiar with the horse conchs from encounters with many at the former Cape Canaveral shell dump. Here large numbers of adults and juveniles were discarded alive from scallop boats. I experimented some with them and found their bright orange flesh edible when prepared as you might abalone. The color was somewhat off putting.
I am not certain that use of the senior synonym was nomenclaturally incorrect and generally prefer to follow the lead of the reviewer when the review is so complete. However, a case certain can be made that the name gigantea is by far the most widely used name. In fact, is not the horse conch, Pleuroploca gigantea, the state shell of Florida? I am certain that 50 previous uses of gigantea could be found but few for papillosa. In fact the Malacolog site states that : "Comments: Non d'Orbigny, 1842; junior synonym of Pleuroploca papillosa Sowerby I, 1825; an application to the ICZN is necessary to conserve the well-known name Pleuroploca gigantea." I would hesitate to make the case myself to ICZN because I have not seen all the relevant descriptive literature and especially the Sowerby description or tried to examine types if any.
Yours,
John
-----Original message-----
From: "Harry G. Lee" [log in to unmask]
Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 12:26:42 -0600
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] What are we calling the Horse Conch?
Dear John,
Very good, but disturbing, point.
I'll leave the discussion of the Tankerville Catalogue (G. B. Sowerby
I, 1825: appendix 16, no. 1552) to Dick Petit, who, I hope, will
contribute to this forum.
From my read, nobody except the author's son (G.B.II), G.B. II's
close colleague (Reeve), Tryon (who suppressed it in favor of the
well-travelled F. gigantea Kiener), and Strebel had the ability to
understand what Fasciolaria papillosa was. It was apparently
described from a juvenile shell, has been regarded as a nomen dubium
by authors, and been rarely, if ever, applied to the species
in question from 1911 until Snyder resurrected it from what may be
found to have been a peaceful demise.
In the interest of nomenclatorial stability, it is very likely that
the ICZN would officially suppress the Sowerby name if petitioned
invoking Article 23.9.3 of the Code. Until the time such a petition
is published, I intend to avoid applying the name Fasciolaria
papillosa G. B. Sowerby I, 1825, regardless of generic reassignment,
to the Florida Horse Conch in print .... and I hope nobody else does!
Harry
At 09:21 AM 12/14/2007, you wrote:
>Dear Jim & Harry,
>
>According to Snyder (2003, Catalogue of the marine gastropod family
>Fasciolariidae, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, special
>publication 21, p. 156) the horse conch should be known as
>Triplofusus papillosa G. B. Sowerby, I, 1825. Sowerby's name is a
>senior synonym of gigantea Kiener, 1840 according to Snyder.
>
>I know little about Fasciolariidae but this is an interesting
>outcome given the wide use of the name gigantea.
>
>Yours,
>
>
>John K. Tucker
>-----Original message-----
>From: "Harry G. Lee" [log in to unmask]
>Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 07:26:06 -0600
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] What are we calling the Horse Conch?
>
>Dear Jim,
>
>Your question involves both nomenclature and taxonomy .......
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