Melobesia Heydrich, 1897, nom. illeg.
Holotype species: Melobesia pustulata J.V.Lamouroux
Currently accepted name for the type species: Lithophyllum pustulatum (J.V.Lamouroux) Foslie
Original publication: Heydrich, F. (1897). Melobesiae. Berichte der deutsche botanischen Gesellschaft 15(7): 403-420, pl. XVIII [18].
Request PDFType designated in: Foslie, M. (1898). Systematical survey of the Lithothamnia. Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskabs Skrifter 1898(2): 1-7.
Precise date of publication: 7 September 1897 (see Woelkerling & Lamy 1998: 680 for details). The requirements for valid publication are specified in the ICBN (International Code of Botanical Nomenclature)
Description: No description is provided as this name is currently treated as a synonym.
The most recent alteration to this page was made on 2023-05-18 by M.D. Guiry.
Taxonomic status: This name is currently regarded as a synonym of Lithophyllum.
Gender: This genus name is currently treated as feminine.
Most recent taxonomic treatment adopted: Brook, A.J. & Johnson, L.R. (2002). Order Zygnematales. In: The Freshwater Algal Flora of the British Isles. An identification guide to freshwater and terrestrial algae. (John, D.M., Whitton, B.A. & Brook, A.J. Eds), pp. 479-593. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Comments: Heydrich (1897: 408) excluded the type of Melobesia Lamouroux (M. membranacea) from his genus by placing it in his hew genus Epilithon (see separate AlgaeBase entry), thereby establishing a new genus called Melobesia which must be solely attributed to him. Heydrich characterized his genus as having uniporate tetrasporangial conceptacles rather than multiporate tetrasporangial conceptacles as occur in Melobesia membranacea Lamouroux. Heydrich did not designate a type species, but Foslie (1898a: 6), who briefly accepted Heydrich’s concept of Melobesia, designated M. pustulata Lamouroux as type. The type of Melobesia pustulata is also the type species of the older generic name Titanoderma Nägeli (1858: 532), which currently is either recognized as a distinct genus or treated as a heterotypic synonym of Lithophyllum Philippi (1837). Additional information about Melobesia Heydrich is provided by Mason (1953: 320) and Woelkerling (1988: 113).
Heydrich’s concept of Melobesia, or that of Foslie (1898b: 10), who established a second later homonym (Melobesia Foslie; see separate AlgaeBase entry), persisted, at least in part, in the literature for many years (e.g. see Levring 1974; Etcheverry 1986) even though Mason (1953) had clearly summarized the ‘illegal’ (=illegitimate) nature of the Heydrich and Foslie names.
Although the generic name Melobesia Heydrich is illegitimate, all ten species names that Heydrich (1897: 408-409) included in the original presentation of Melobesia Heydrich are legitimate (see Art. 55 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
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Contributors
Some of the descriptions included in AlgaeBase were originally from the unpublished Encyclopedia of Algal Genera,
organised in the 1990s by Dr Bruce Parker on behalf of the Phycological Society of America (PSA)
and intended to be published in CD format.
These AlgaeBase descriptions are now being continually updated, and each current contributor is identified above.
The PSA and AlgaeBase warmly acknowledge the generosity of all past and present contributors and particularly the work of Dr Parker.
Descriptions of chrysophyte genera were subsequently published in J. Kristiansen & H.R. Preisig (eds.). 2001. Encyclopedia of Chrysophyte Genera. Bibliotheca Phycologica 110: 1-260.
Linking to this page: https://www.algaebase.org/search/genus/detail/?genus_id=50896
Citing AlgaeBase
Cite this record as:
M.D. Guiry in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 18 May 2023. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. https://www.algaebase.org; searched on 25 April 2024
