Table Of Content196 BulletinofZoologicalNomenclature50(3)September1993
Thedating ofcertain ofd'Orbigny's brachiopod and bivalve nominal
taxa
Miguel O. Mancenido
Invertebrate Palaeozoology Division, LaPlataNaturalSciences Museum.
PaseodelBosque, 1900 La Plata, Argentina
Ellis F. Owen &NoelJ. Morris
DepartmentofPalaeontology, TheNaturalHistory Museum, Cromwell
Road. London SW75BD. U.K.
The most widely cited sources concerning authorship of higher taxa among
brachiopods are Dall (1877). Schuchert & LeVene (1929), Muir-Wood (1955) and
Williamset al. (1965). Resulting from ourwork on therevision ofthe Treatiseon
Invertebrate Paleontology (1965) we have found that changes in some current
assumptionsarenecessary.
Anumberofbrachiopodfamiliesandgenerawereerectedinseveralpublications
byd'Orbignybetween 1847and 1852.andthedateofissueofsomeofthesepapers
has often been disputed. Thus Sherborn (1899), usingtheindependentevidence of
contemporaneous literature surveys in the Neues Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie. Geog-
nosie. GeologieiindPetrefakten-Kimde(co-editedby H.G. Bronn),pointedout that
d'Orbigny'sfamousPaleontologieFranfaise. TerrainsCretaces,vol.4(ourreference
1847d'), althoughdisplayingthedate 1847 on the titlepage, wasin fact issued at
varioustimesbetween1848and1851.Presumablyitisforthisreasonthatauthorship
anddateofthefamilyrhynchonellidaehasoftenbeenattributedtoGray(1848),
withthenotablerecentexceptionofLaurin(1984,pp. 15-16,360).Laurinpostulated
d'Orbigny(1847)asauthorofthisname, thoughheadmittedto uncertaintyabout
detailsofitsfirstpublicationandassumedthatGrayandd'Orbignywouldhavebeen
ignorant ofeachother'spapers(seealsoZittel, 1880,pp. 661,689).
Wedecidedtolookintothematterfurtherasthereareotherpapersbyd'Orbigny
(1847a, b, 'c') which are relevant to this issueand have similartitles. D'Orbigny's
initialcontributionwasreadtotheParisAcademyofSciencesatthesessionsof2and
16August1847andappearedintwodifferentpartsoftheCompiesRendus(internally
datedasSecondSemester 1847;seepp. 177,265,footnotes).Theseareourreference
d'Orbigny (1847a). Fuller versions were subsequentlypublished in theAnnalesdes
SciencesNatwelles.thefirstpartinvol.8(internallydatedasOctober1847)andthe
secondpartinvol. 13(internallydatedasJune 1850).Thefirstpartofthisexpanded
versionisourreferenced'Orbigny(1847b)andthesecondisourd'Orbigny("1847c').
WhenexternalevidencefromtheNeuesJahrbuchistakenintoaccountitbecomes
clear that only d'Orbigny (1847a and 1847b) could have been published, in that
order,in 1847andfairlylateintheyear.NeitherofthemwasnotedwithintheNeues
Jahrbuchfor 1847,butbothpartsofd'Orbigny(1847a)werereviewedtogetherand
in essence translated by Bronn (1848, pp. 244-248) quite early in 1848. Bronn
introduced some emendations, unjustified by present standards, to d'Orbigny's
originalspellings.ThatsameissueoftheNeuesJahrbuchincludedacriticalreportby
RoemeronJamesHall'sPalaeontologyofNew York.vol. 1 (1847),andletterstothe
BulletinofZoologicalNomenclature50(3)September1993 197
editordatingfrom20October1847to10January1848.Later(NeuesJahrbuch.1848.
p. 478) a report appeared on vol. 8 (for July-October 1847) of the Anmiles des
Sciences NatureUes which specifically referred to d'Orbigny's paper and earlier
review. This later issue of the Neues Jahrbuch contains editorial correspondence
datingfrom21 Aprilto 18June 1848.
Gray'spaper(1848)wasnotprinteduntilthelastissue(December)ofAnnalsand
Magazine ofNatural History for 1848, and records that d'Orbigny (1847b) was
already published. Hence, d'Orbigny's (1847a, 1847b) nomenclatural acts have
priorityoverGray(1848),andBronn(1848,pp.244-248)predatesGraywithin1848.
Othernomenclaturalcontributionsbyd'Orbignyhimself(1848,p. 12; 1850,p. 321;
1851, p. 342; 1852. p. 85)now becomeirrelevant inasmuchastheypostdateGray.
Consequently the family-groupnamesbased on Rhynchonella(rhynchonellacea,
RHYNCHONELLIDAE and RHYNCHONELLINAE) should all be attributed to d'Orbigny
(1847a. p. 268). The family name was used subsequently by Gray (1848), Bronn
(1848, p. 246, as rhinchonellidae) and Carpenter in Davidson (1853, p. 35, as
RHYNCONELLIDAE). The superfamilywasfirstproposed by Schuchert (1896, p. 323)
andthesubfamilybyGill(1871,p. 25).
Duringthecourseofourinquiryintothevalidityofd'Orbigny'staxawenoticed
thattheauthorshipofotherfamilygroupnamesalsoappearstobeatvariancewith
currentlyacceptedcitationsintheTreatiseonInvertebratePaleontology,partsHand
N(WiUiamsetal. 1965;Coxetal., 1969),andalsoinSarychevaetal.(1960,pp. 186,
250,282,304)andEhberzinetal.(1960.pp. 158, 160).Thenecessarycorrections,as
weseethem,arenotedbelowfortheuseofcolleaguesworkingontherelevantgroups
whomightfindsuchinformationuseful.Items(a)to(d)concernbrachiopodsandthe
remainingobservationsrelatetomolluscs.Nocriticismofpastresearchonthesetaxa
isimpliedhere.
(a) Onp.H311,thefamilyorthidaeisattributedtoWoodward(1852,p.229)but
it had already been made available (as orthisidae) by d'Orbigny (1847a, p. 267).
Woodwardonlycorrectedthespelling.
(b) Onp.H649,thefamilyuncitidaeisattributedtoWaagen(1883.pp.487,494)
asasubfamily,laterraisedtofamilyrankbySchuchert(Schuchert&LeVene, 1929,
p.22). Infactithadbeenmadeavailablebyd'Orbigny(1847a,p. 268).
(c) Onp.H849,thesubfamilymagadinaeisattributedtoDavidson(1886,p.4,as
MAGASINAE),withStemcorrectionbyElliot&Hataitherein.However,earlierusesare
known:asmagasinaebyH.&A.Adams([1858],p.576;seealsoDall, 1877,pp.45,
77)andmostimportantlybyd'Orbigny(1847a,p.268,asmagasidae). D'Orbigny's
name threatens, on grounds ofpriority, the widespread usage ofthe superfamily
terebratellacea and family terebratellidae of King (1850. p. 245), who was
clearlyawareofd'Orbigny'sproposal,eventhoughacceptingitwithamodifiedscope
(cf.pp. 142,246).ForthesakeofstabilitythismayrequireCommissionintervention.
(d) It should be noted that d'Orbigny (1847a) also introduced a number of
brachiopodgenericnames:Orthisina(p.267),Hemithiris(p.268),Spiriferina(p.268),
Spirigerina(p. 268).Spirigera(p.268), Terebratulina(p. 268), Terebratella(p.269),
Terebrirostra (p. 269), Fissirostra (p. 269), Megathiris (p. 269), Orbicella (p. 269),
Orbiculoidea(p. 269). Save forafewminorexceptionsmost havebeen adoptedas
availablefromthatdateandthosepagesbyWilliamsetal.(1965).Thelastnamewas
recordedbytheCommissioninOpinion722(April 1965).
198 BulletinofZoologicalNomenclature50(3)September1993
In addition, two families of the rudist order Hippuritoida Newell, 1965, now
classedwiththeBivalviabutconsideredbyd'Orbigny(1847a)tobeanorderofthe
Brachiopoda,wererecognisedbyhim.Thesewerethecaprinidae(p.269),basedon
thegenus CaprinaC.d'Orbigny. 1822andalsoincludingHippurites, Caprimilaand
Caprinelki.andtheradiolitidae(p. 269,asradiolidae;correctlyspelledbyGray,
1848,p.439),basedon Radiolitesandincluding CaprotinaA. d'Orbigny, 1842.
Thefamilycaprinidaewasfirstmentionedbyd'Orbigny(1842)inthevernacular
form Caprinidees, based on Caprina and additionally including Caprotina and
Icihyosarcolites. The majority ofmonographic works mention neither author nor
dateforthisfamilysoitisnotavailablefrom 1842underArticle1lf(iii)oftheCode.
Werecommendthatthenamecaprinidaed'Orbignyberecognisedasavailablefrom
itsfirstlatinizedusage(1847a,p. 269).
ThefamilynamehippuritidaeGray, 1848(p.440)wasplacedontheOfficialList
in Opinion 613 (November 1961); in 1842 d'Orbigny had used the vernacular
Hippuridees. It follows that in the superfamily recognised by Cox et al. (1969, p.
N749)asthehippuritaceaGray,1848therearetwoolderfamilynamesofd'Orbigny
(1847a);caprinidaeandradiolitidae.
WeinvitecommentsfromspecialistsinterestedineitherBrachiopodaorMoUusca
concerningthebestactionstoundertakeinordertostabilizenomenclature.
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