TAXON 62 (4) • August 2013: 839–840
Doweld • (2185) Conserve Lepidophloios
(2185) Proposal to conserve the name Lepidophloios against Yuccites (fossil Lycopodiophyta, Lepidodendropsida) Alexander B. Doweld National Institute of Carpology (Gaertnerian Institution), 21 Konenkowa Street 127560, Moscow, Russian Federation;
[email protected]. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12705/624.20
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Lepidophloios Sternb., Vers. Fl. Vorwelt 1 (Tent.): xiii. Sep 1825, nom. & orth. cons. (‘Lepidofloyos’). Typus: L. laricinum (Sternb.) Sternb. (Lepidodendron laricinum Sternb.) Yuccites Mart. in Denkschr. Königl.-Baier. Bot. Ges. Regensburg 2: 135. 1822, nom. rej. prop. Typus (vide Andrews in Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv. 1013: 261. 1955): Y. microlepis Mart.
Recently, a formal proposal was published (Wang in Taxon 56: 268–269. 2007) and accepted (Herendeen in Taxon 60: 903. 2011; Barrie in Taxon 60: 1213. 2011; McNeill & al. in Taxon 60: 1510. 2011) to conserve the widespread, but not original spelling of the genus Lepidophloios Sternb. (‘Lepidofloyos’). Although it was reasonable to propose maintenance of the spelling of the generic name in current use, a more important nomenclatural action is needed to conserve the generic name itself against its earlier, heterotypic synonym Yuccites Mart. (l.c. 1822). The genus Yuccites was established by Martius for fossil stems of Carboniferous age (not to be confused with the well-known Yuccites established by Schimper & Mougeot, Monogr. Pl. Foss. Grès Bigarré: 42. 1844 for Triassic gymnospermous leaves for which there is now
the substitute generic name, Pelourdea Seward, Foss. Pl. 3: 277. 1917). Yuccites was superficially compared by Martius with extant Yucca, and included three described species, Y. microlepis, Y. trigonolepis and Y. sphaerolepis. Sternberg (l.c.: 1823: 24) critically re-interpreted the fossils described as Yuccites as remnants belonging to Lepidodendron laricinum Sternb. (l.c. 1820: 23) and thereby Yuccites was synonymized with his genus Lepidodendron Sternb. (l.c. 1820: 19, 23), sensu lato. When Sternberg established the new genus Lepidofloyos in 1825, with L. laricinum (Sternb.) Sternb. as its sole species, he did not even mention synonymic Yuccites. Yuccites was only mentioned three more times: in the English translation of the original Martius paper (in Edinburgh Philos. J. 12: 273 1825), and in two geological treatises (Ure, New Syst. Geol.: 448. 1829; Holland, Hist. Descr. Foss. Fuel: 92. 1835), and soon fell into oblivion. The synonymic status of Yuccites and its ill-defined species was maintained, and later confirmed by Göppert (in Bronn, Index Palaeontol.: 1376. 1848). In contrast, the genus Lepidophloios became one of the widespread and often used genera of fossil plants (Unger, Gen. Sp. Pl. Foss.: 278. 1850; Goldenberg, Fl. Saraepont. Foss.: 20. 1854; Schimper, Traité Paléontol. Vég. 2: 49. 1870; Zeiller, Vég. Foss. Terr. Houiller: 113. 1879 & Élém. Paléobot.: 185. 1900; Kidston in Trans.
Version of Record (identical to print version).
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Doweld • (2185) Conserve Lepidophloios
TAXON 62 (4) • August 2013: 839–840
Roy. Soc. Edinburgh 37: 354. 1892 & in Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glasgow, Ser. 2, 6: 53. 1901; Dawson in Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, Ser. 2, 3(4): 58. 1897; Gothan in Gürich, Leitfoss. 3: 131. 1923; Seward, Foss. Pl. 2: 104. 1910; Scott, Stud. Foss. Bot., ed. 3, 1: 151. 1920; Hirmer, Lehrb. Paläobot. 1: 233. 1927; Jongmans, Foss. Cat. Pl. 16: 405. 1930, 21: 1041. 1936; Chaloner & Boureau in Boureau, Traité Paléobot. 2: 569. 1967; Thomas & Meyen in Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 41: 278. 1984; Taylor & al., Paleobotany: 283. 2009). Since Yuccites Mart. has never been
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used for over 190 years and nearly forgotten in modern systematic palaeobotany, it is formally proposed to conserve Lepidophloios Sternb., which is in current use for similar fossils, against Yuccites Mart. Acknowledgements The research is a contribution to the Palaeoflora Europaea Project and Palaeoflora of Russia (Palaeoflora Rossica) Project (NOM10-799).
Version of Record (identical to print version).
