Protoschmidtia simplex Czerniavsky, 1880

Van Soest, Rob W. M., 2024, Correcting sponge names: nomenclatural update of lower taxa level Porifera, Zootaxa 5398 (1), pp. 1-122 : 42

Protoschmidtia simplex Czerniavsky, 1880

Protoschmidtia simplex Czerniavsky, 1880: 95 .

The names erected by the author Czerniavsky for species, varieties and formae from the Black Sea are often problematic because of repetitive use of the same geographic name (as varieties or formae) for different species of the same genus. The descriptions are in Latin (first) and Russian (second) and are for that reason difficult to validate against recent descriptions of established Mediterranean species of the relevant genera. Protoschmidtia simplex Czerniavsky, 1880 , selected as the type species of the genus by De Weerdt (2002: 872), is reassigned to Haliclona on the basis of De Weerdt’s suggestion that the genus is a junior synonym of Haliclona . Czerniavsky described two formae, taurica and caucasica (see also below). Protoschmidtia simplex f. taurica (currently erroneously accepted as Haliclona simplex taurica in the WPD, curiously omitted in the Ereskovsky et al. (2016) tables of Black Sea sponges) is here proposed as the nominotypical forma to be named P. simplex f. simplex (ICZN art. 47.1) because the alternative, P.s. f. caucasica , recommended as the first mentioned name, would cause creating an additional secondary homonym of P.s. f. taurica with Reniera alba var. taurica , R. inflata var. taurica , R. informis var. tauric a, R. palmata var. taurica , and Schmidtia intermedia f. taurica (all authored by Czerniavsky 1880). Unfortunately, there are no illustrations of P. simplex f. simplex (originally taurica) provided by Czerniavsky, but there is a syntype of this taxon in the Zoological Museum of St. Petersburg (ZIN-RAS 11402 – Syntypes, “Sevastopol vel Muchaljaka. Prof. 10 metr. 1860. Ac. Brandt”). There is also type material labeled without a varietal name, simply labeled Protoschmidtia simplex (ZIN 11416 – Syntypes. Sinus Novorossijsk, 1870/IV), and this could possibly be of the first mentioned variety, P.s. f. caucasica . A species Haliclona simplex sensu Czerniavsky remains without recent descriptions, and it is highly likely that it has a senior synonym among the many Mediterranean Haliclona species. To confirm this, examination of the type material is necessary.

A further complication is that there is a homonymy problem with Isodictya simplex Bowerbank, 1866 , currently considered to belong to the genus Haliclona (cf. De Weerdt 1986: 91) as one of the many junior synonyms of Haliclona (Rhizoniera) rosea ( Bowerbank, 1866: 282) . The two simplex names are secondary homonyms, but they are currently considered to be congeneric and the junior name (Czerniavsky’s) is invalid (ICZN art. 59.1). Forma taurica is not eligible because it has to be renamed P. s. f. simplex , so caucasica is proposed to replace the preoccupied name simplex Czerniavsky. As first revisor, I propose here to replace Protoschmidtia simplex Czerniavsky, 1880 by the name Haliclona caucasica ( Czerniavsky, 1880) represented by syntypes ZIN-RAS 11402 and 11416, assuming the two erstwhile formae are conspecific.