Authority

English

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While having been unanimously attributed to Thomson, 1877 in print, revisiting the original publications shed new light on the correct authority of Aerope rostrata. The first published description in association with this name actually was actually published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Vol. 25, Issue 173, published in 1876, in a work by A. M. Norman, who the biological material of the Valorous Cruise. In this article he gives a good description of the species, as well as station details, but at the end (p. 212) mentions: “… This new and most interesting form will be names Aërope rostrata by Sir Wyville Thomson*.” The footnote reads: “When this description was read I had suggested a name for the present species; but having since learnt from Sir Wyville Thomson that it has also been procured in the ‘Challenger’ Expedition, I gladly adopt the above name, under which I found that he was about to describe it.” Since Norman’s article predated the book in which Thomson described Aerope rostrata, under ICZN Article 50.1, Norman is the author of the species, since he was the first to fulfil the criteria of availability. Under Article 50.1 (a name is established by the person who first published it), only one name was established: Aerope rostrata Norman, 1876; Aerope rostrata Thomson is not a separate nominal taxon. Acknowledgements: I am grateful to Gary Rosenberg (Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University) for discussion of this case.

Norman, A.M. (1876). Crustacea, Tunicata, Polyzoa, Echinodermata, Actinozoa, Foraminifera, Polycistina and Spongida. In: Jeffreys, J.G. (ed.). Preliminary Report of the Biological Results of a Cruise in H.M.S. 'Valorous' to Davis Strait in 1875. Proceedings of the Royal Society 25:202-215. available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43410675 

Thomson, C.W. (1877). The voyage of the "Challenger." The Atlantic; a preliminary account of the general results of the exploring voyage of H.M.S. "Challenger" during the year 1873 and the early part of the year 1876, Volume 2 xiv+396 pp. (Macmillan and Co.: London). available online at https://books.google.at/books?id=0EFUAAAAMAAJ