Dear Tom,
 
Recently most scientific authors have used "Lima lima" and "Ctenoides
scabra," i. e. full generic status.  Lima lima (Linnaeus, 1758) is the type
of Lima Bruguière, 1789 if only by the rule of tautonomy (like Bora Bora;
reiteritive).  It won't be expropriated to Ctenoides Mørch, 1853 (or any
other generic unit) unless Lima Bruguière was deemed unavailable, a junior
synonym, or junior homonym (unlikely nomenclatorial circumstances at this
late point in time).
 
A separate issue is that of the proper name for the Western Atlantic species
you (and nearly all of us) undoubtedly mean by "Lima lima."  Contemporary
professionals (Mikkelsen P. M. and R. Bieler, 1998.  File clams and flame
scallops in the western Atlantic (Bivalvia: Limidae). Abstracts of the World
Congress of Malacology, Washington, DC 25-30 July 1998. Chicago, 1998.) have
limited Lima lima (Linnaeus, 1758) [? synonym: L. squamosa Lamarck] to the
eastern Atlantic and applied L. caribaea d'Orbigny, 1842 to the western
Atlantic, L. sowerbyi Deshayes, 1863 to the Indo-West Pacific, and L.
tetrica Gould, 1851 to the Panamic species.
 
W. O. Cernohorsky (1972.  Marine shells of the Pacific. Volume II. Pacific
Publ., Sydney, pp. 1-411 incl. 68 pls., index, etc.) reported that L.
sowerbyi Deshayes, 1863 was preoccupied by L. s. Geinitz, 1850, and he was
emphatic in assigning L. vulgaris Link, 1807 to the "Indo-Pacific."
Accepting at least the latter fact, we must consider L. vulgaris Link, 1807
the best name for the Indo-West Pacific taxon, but we've strayed "off-topic."
 
Why don't we do some (radial) rib-counts and see if we can confirm this act
of "splitting?"
 
Harry
 
 
At 02:30 PM 4/10/99 +-100, you wrote:
>I have a query concerning the nomenclature of Caribbean file shells.
>
>Are the names Lima lima and Lima scabra still accepted as correct, or
should these be Ctenoides lima and scabra?  Or is Ctenoides still regarded
as a subgenus?
>
>Thanks for the help.
>
>Tom Walker
>Reading, England
>
Harry G. Lee                
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