Alcyonium bursa L. Syst. Nat.

Van Soest, Rob W. M. & Plotkin, Alexander, 2021, Alcyonium bursa Linnaeus, 1758 is not a sponge, Zootaxa 4951 (1), pp. 193-200 : 193

“ Alcyonium bursa L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 1: 803. 1758

[= Webberella bursa (L.): Porifera]— Type status unknown.

Note. Alcyonium bursa is the basionym for a sponge (M. Spencer-Jones, pers. comm.). The sole known extant original material, an illustration in Ellis (1755: t.17,f. B,C & D.), represents a form of polyp-forming animal. However, Alcyonium bursa has also, though erroneously, been treated by phycologists as the basionym for the green alga Codium bursa ; the correct authorship for the latter name is C. bursa (Olivi) C.Agardh ( Brodie et al., 2007: 190).”

This statement contains several clear errors and we believe it is scientifically and nomenclaturally incorrect. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that Linnaeus’ Alcyonium bursa is not the basionym of any sponge known to us.