Fiddler Crabs Home

spinicarpa

History

Species
Leptuca spinicarpa
Original Usage
Gelasimus tetragonon var. spinicarpa
Original Source with Priority
Rathbun, M.J. (1900) Synopses of North-American invertebrates. XI. The Catometopous or Grapsoid crabs of North America. American Naturalist 34(403):583–592.
Derivation
Named after the spine/tooth on the major wrist (carpus).

Locations Where the Name has Been Applied

Number of Uses of Name per Year

Notes/Comments

This specific name was originally published as Gelasimus tetragonon var. spinicarpa Kossmann, 1877. This application was functionally lost and the name was reused by Rathbun when she described Uca spinicarpa Rathbun, 1900. Although normally Kossmann's name would be a senior homonym with priority, because his usage was completely ignored for over a century while Rathbun's application was widely used, the Code of the ICZN required that priority be reversed, making Kossmann's name a nomen oblitum and Rathbun's a nomen protectum (Rosenberg 2013). The species referred to by Kossmann is likely the one now known as Gelasimus hesperiae (Crane, 1975).

Binomials Using this Specific Name