Strophia alba Maynard, 1889

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Synonymy

Strophia alba Maynard, 1889: 74-75, pl. 7, figs. 17, 17A, 17B, text fig. 9A, B, text fig. 11; Clench, 1957:136; Harasewych et al., 2007:384-385, fig. 17.

Cerion (Strophiops) album Clench, 1934:208.

Original Description: Click to view

Geographic Distribution: Rum Cay, Bahama Islands.

Type Locality: West coast of Rum Key, near salt pond on low shrubbery

near salt pond on low shrubbery between it and the beach, frequently quite near the sand.

Type Material: Holotype, MCZ 76150

Remarks

Clench (1934) synonymizes under C. lentiginosum (interior, west side of Rum Cay) the following taxa, S. alba (west coast of Rum Cay), and S. brownei (north coast of Rum Cay). He notes that the specimens from Port Nelson are typical, as originally described by Maynard (1889). The specimens collected from the northwest point of the island and from near Port Boyd agree more nearly with C. album and C. brownei. He notes that integrades occur, and that the characters used by Maynard to distinguish C. lentiginosum from C. album are present in the type series of the former. (see Clench, 1934, fig. 1E, sta. 20-22 for map of exact station locations).

Clench (1934:208) synonymized this species under S. lentiginosa Maynard, 1889, having stated that "the differences indicated by Maynard, however, between lentiginosum, album and brownei are not at all as well defined as originally stated. .... I cannot see any valid reason for the retention of album or brownei as separate species or even varieties of lentiginosum. Though slight differences do occur, these differences are not of specific or varietal value, but exhibit only colonial variations, a condition existing everywhere among members of this genus. To attempt to name separately every colony of Cerion encountered would be absolutely meaningless, and would, in addition, complicate the study of this group far beyond its present state of confusion."

Additional Information

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