Taxacom: Correct spelling / history of a fossil fish name: Astrolepis/Asterolepis Eichwald, 1840

[Tony Rees]

For the record here is the relevant entry in Van der Laan, 2018,
"Family-group names of fossil fishes", https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.5852%2Fejt.2018.466&data=05%7C02%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7Cdeb64e585c084eef33ee08dc6ae794f1%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638502790229793547%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C80000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=md3dYBLfPRuFvy2HfYyQPAoYm8sJxqrP%2FzBAADasVO0%3D&reserved=0
-----------------------
Order †Asterolepidiformes
  Family †Asterolepididae Traquair 1888, name and spelling in prevailing
recent practice
         †Chelonichthyda Asmuss 1856: 10 (family) †Chelonichthys Agassiz
1844 [type genus inferred from the stem, Art. 11.7.1.1]
         †Asterolepidae  Traquair  1888a:  485  (family) †Asterolepis
Eichwald 1840 [family name also seen as †Astrolepidae, †Astrolepididae and
†Asterolepididae]
----------------------
Regards - Tony


On Fri, 3 May 2024 at 06:24, Tony Rees via Taxacom <taxacom at lists.ku.edu>
wrote:

> Hi Taxacomers,
>
> I am trying to determine the history, and correct spelling, of the genus
> name Astrolepis/Asterolepis Eichwald, 1840, for which Neave has the
> following 2 records:
>
> Astrolepis Eichwald 1840 Bull. Acad. St. Pétersb., 7, 79. Pisces (See
> Chelonichthys Agassiz 1844.)
>
> Asterolepis Eichwald 1840 N. Jahrb. f. Min., 1840, 425. Pisces (err. pro
> Astrolepis Eichwald 1840) (nec Astrolepas Gray 1825 see Chelonichthys
> Agassiz 1840)
>
> My first question is., are these the same taxon? in which case the "see
> Chelonichthys Agassiz 1840" is a little confusing.
>
> My second is, which name is correct (aka in current use): for example
> Murphy
> et al., 1976, "Astrolepis sp. from the Upper Devonian of central Nevada"
> use Astrolepis without further comment; Downs et al., 2019 "Asterolepis
> alticristata n. sp.(Antiarchi) from the Upper Devonian (Frasnian) of
> Nunavut, Canada, and a report on the antiarch diversity of the Fram
> Formation" and most recent authors use Asterolepis (this paper has some
> discussion regarding the history of the name, however unfortunately I
> cannot access a full copy of the text).
>
> Third under a few scenarios - if  Bull. Acad. St. Pétersb., 7, 1840
> appeared earlier than N. Jahrb. f. Min., 1840, then either (a) Astrolepis
> could be an original incorrect spelling, Asterolepis a corrected original
> one, with the original publication information maintained, (b) Astrolepis
> could be unavailable for some reason, making Asterolepis the correct
> spelling with the publication details N. Jahrb. f. Min., 1840; or (c)
> something else I have not thought of...
>
> Comments, further advice most welcome!
>
> For the record, the genus in its most frequently encountered current
> spelling "Asterolepis" is the type of the family Asterolepididae which
> appears to be attributable to Traquair, 1888.
>
> Thanks in advance - Tony
>
>
>
> Tony Rees, New South Wales, Australia
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fabout.me%2FTonyRees&data=05%7C02%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7Cdeb64e585c084eef33ee08dc6ae794f1%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638502790229949795%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C80000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=jW5P%2BeWVwHz3IfZAwHrCc4FOf2IsRqw0xoS2xKzLJq8%3D&reserved=0
> _______________________________________________
> Taxacom Mailing List
>
> Send Taxacom mailing list submissions to: taxacom at lists.ku.edu
> For list information; to subscribe or unsubscribe, visit:
> https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/taxacom
> You can reach the person managing the list at: taxacom-owner at lists.ku.edu
>
> Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity for about 37 years, 1987-2024.
>
> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will, To strive, to seek, to
> find, and not to yield. Tennyson, Ulysses.
>