This is an interesting contribution, but it makes matters more complicated,
and it confuses taxonomy with nomenclature.
The coral species, named Syringopora nevadenses has been described. A
holotype was chosen by the original author. So far so good, no problem.
Later, it appeared that specimens of presumably the same species, were
collected elswhere, viz. northern Canada and Russia, and named S.
nevadensis.
Later on, it became clear that:
the species known as Syringopora nevadenses had been described earlier
(with another name I assume). The species S. nevadenses had to be given its
earlier name. The holotype of S. nevadenses however still remains the
holotype of S. nevadenses, nobody can change that.
S. nevadenses is a junior subjective synonym of another species.
Specimens from Canada and Russia, previously identified as S. nevadenses
however turned out to be a new species, or at least, not conspecific with
S. nevadenses.
So, they cannot be named S. nevadenses, as S. nevadenses is identifiable by
comparing it with the holotype. The name S.nevadenses cannot be applied for
another species, as it would establish a junior homonym
So, there is an unnamed fossil coral species from Russia and Canada,
previously confused with S. nevadensis.

Gijs C. Kronenberg

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> Van: Joe and Nora <[log in to unmask]>
> Aan: [log in to unmask]
> Onderwerp: Type specimens
> Datum: dinsdag 5 december 2000 6:41
>
> Joe here. Just an 'aside' on type specimens, holotypes, etc.. Woe be he
who
> does not take care in maming a new species. Take the case of a tabulate
> Devonian coral 'Syringopora nevadenses'...named after a specimen
described
> from Nevada...During some stages of the Devonian, the faunal province
> extended from Nevada to across what is today Western Canada, through the
> Arctic into northern Russia. Similar corals found in northern Canada and
> Russia were therefore given the same name 'nevadenses'...Then it was
decided
> that the Nevada coral was really the same as another species previously
> named...and the holotype lost its status as a new type specimen...but the
> Canadian and Russian specimens were determined to indeed be new and kept
the
> name 'nevadenses'.. and a Russian specimen became the type specimen of
> Syrigopora nevadenses...otherwise the coral named after Nevada was no
longer
> thought to occur in Nevada but occured in Canada and Russia. Today the
type
> specimen named after Nevada is a Russian specimen!!!