[Coral-List] coral nomenclature

[Judith Lang/Lynton Land]

Paul,
Dr. Ann Foster synonymized the two species in the following publication 
with S. intersepta (not intercepta)  having priority:
Foster, A. B.1987. Neogene Paleontology in the Northern Dominican 
Republic. 4. The genus Stephanocoenia (Anthozoa: Scleractinia: 
Astrocoeniidae). Bulls. Amer. Paleontology 93: 5-22, pls. 1-7.

However, there is a lingering suspicion that really there may be two 
living species of Stephanocoenia and, if so, the second species 
probably should be called S. michelinii (not michelini). This second 
morph is illustrated in the bottom two photos on pages 110 and 111 of 
Paul Humann's Reef Coral Identification guide. The top photo on page 
110, and the two upper photos on page 111 are good examples of the 
intersepta morph.

If a more recent taxonomic treatment of the living members of this 
genus exists, I'd be interested to hear about it.
Judy




On Jan 23, 2004, at 1:32 PM, paul brown wrote:

> Hi all,
> I have seen numerous uses of Stephanocoenia intercepta as well as S. 
> michelini in the literature. Are these in fact different species or 
> are these synomyms for the same species? If they are synomyms, which 
> is the most current?
> Any knowledge about the taxonomy of this genera would be greatly 
> appreciated.
>
> Paul Brown
> PhD candidate
> University of Calgary
> Department of Biological Sciences
> 2500 University Drive
> Calgary, Alberta, Cananda
> T2N 1N4
> (403) 210-5484
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Learn how to choose, serve, and enjoy wine at Wine @ MSN. 
> http://wine.msn.com/
>
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>