Apora Gunnerus, 1768, nom. rejic.

Holotype species: Apora polymorpha Gunnerus

Publication details: Gunnerus, 1768: 72

Currently accepted name for the type species: Phymatolithon calcareum (Pallas) W.H.Adey & D.L.McKibbin ex Woelkering & L.M.Irvine

Original publication and holotype designation: Gunnerus, J.E. (1768). Om nogle norske Coraller [On some Norwegian corals]. Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskabs Skrifter 4: 38-73, pls 1-4, 8, 10, 11, 15.

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Precise date of publication: 1768 (more precise date not determined).

The most recent alteration to this page was made on 2017-02-16 by M.D. Guiry.

Taxonomic status: This name is currently regarded as a synonym of Phymatolithon.

Most recent taxonomic treatment adopted: Schneider, C.W. & Wynne, M.J. (2007). A synoptic review of the classification of red algal genera a half a century after Kylin's "Die Gattungen der Rhodophyceen". Botanica Marina 50: 197-249.

Comments: Seven generic names are based on Millepora polymorpha Linnaeus and thus are ultimately typified by the type of Millepora calcarea Pallas. Chronologically these are Apora Gunnerus (1768), Nullipora Lamarck (1801), Agardhina Nardo (1834), Agardhia Meneghini (1838), Juergensia Reichenbach (1841), Phymatolithon Foslie (1898) and Eleutherospora Heydrich (1900). Because Phymatolithon is a conserved name, it automatically takes precedence over the other six names, which must be rejected under ICBN Art. 14.4, irrespective of when they were validly published. Separate entries for each name are provided in AlgaeBase.

An account of the epitype specimen of Millepora calcarea Pallas, the correct name for Millepora polymorpha Linnaeus is provided by Woelkerling & Irvine (1986, as Phymatolithon calcareum).

Changes in the ICBN necessitated an update (Spencer et al. 2009: 253) to the original typification (Woelkerling & Irvine 1986 58) of Millepora calcarea; the species is now lectotypified by an illustration (Ellis 1755, Tab. 27, Fig. C) cited in the protologue (Pallas 1766: 265) and epitypified by BM 000562555 (Algal Box Collection 1626) housed in the Natural History Museum , London. Further information is provided in the AlgaeBase entry for Phymatolithon.

Nomenclatural note
The ICBN rules cited below are those adopted by the Seventeenth International Botanical Congress, Vienna, Austria, July 2005 (McNeill et al. 2006).

The generic name Apora is typified (ICBN Art. 10.1) by the type of A. polymorpha Gunnerus, nom. illeg., the only species originally included in the genus. Although Gunnerus based his species name on Millepora polymorpha Linnaeus, his binomial is correctly cited as Apora polymorpha Gunnerus and not A. polymorpha (Linnaeus) Gunnerus because Millepora polymorpha is illegitimate (see below) and thus cannot serve as a basionym (ICBN Art. 45.3). Apora polymorpha Gunnerus is considered to be a new name (ICBN Art. 58) but is also illegitimate because Gunnerus did not explicitly exclude the type of Millepora calcarea Pallas (see ICBN Art. 58, Note 1) from his species.

Apora Gunnerus (1768) is a validly published generic name but formally rejected in favour of Phymatolithon Foslie (1898), which is conserved under ICBN Art. 14 (see ICBN Appendix VII for definition of a conserved name). Phymatolithon is listed in the Nomina Generica Conservanda (ICBN Appendix III, A9), and in accordance with ICBN Art. 14.4, Phymatolithon is conserved against all homotypic synonyms, including Apora (see below).

Both Apora and Phymatolithon are based on Millepora polymorpha Linnaeus (1767: 1285), a superfluous substitute name for Millepora calcarea Pallas (1766: 265) and thus illegitimate under ICBN Art. 52. In accordance with ICBN Art.7.5, Millepora polymorpha is automatically typified by the type of M. calcarea, the name that should have been adopted under the rules. Because the type of Millepora calcarea Pallas typifies the name Millepora polymorpha Linnaeus (and thus the names Apora polymorpha Gunnerus and Phymatolithon polymorphum Foslie), it also typifies the generic names Apora and Phymatolithon (ICBN Art. 10.1).

The current correct name (see ICBN Appendix VII for definition) for Millepora calcarea is Phymatolithon calcareum (Pallas) Adey & McKibbin (1970: 100). Details are provided in Woelkerling & Irvine (1986); also see the AlgaeBase entry for Phymatolithon.

The application of ICBN Art 45.3 & Art. 58 in determining authorship and illegitimacy was ascertained in e-mail correspondence in May 2009 with Paul Silva (Chairman, Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Algae) and John McNeill (Chairman, Editorial Committee for the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature adopted by the Seventeenth International Botanical Congress, Vienna, Austria, July 2005). - (17 July 2009)

Taxonomic note
test - (21 July 2009) - Pier Kuipers

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Citing AlgaeBase
Cite this record as:
M.D. Guiry in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 16 February 2017. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. https://www.algaebase.org; searched on 31 May 2025