Pandorina morum (O.F.Müller) Bory 1826
Current name:
Pandorina morum (O.F.Müller) Bory
Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA; pond, Lugol's, 1000x, DIC - 20 March 2010. Karl Bruun (skogenman@earthlink.net)
Publication Details
Pandorina morum (O.F.Müller) Bory 1826: 22 (as 'mora')
Published in: Bory de Saint-Vincent, [J.B.G.M.] (1826). Essai d'une classification des animaux microscopiques. pp. [i]-x, [1]-104. Paris: de l'imprimerie de de Mme Veuve Agasse.
Original description: 
Type Species
This is the type species (lectotype) of the genus Pandorina.
Status of Name
This name is of an entity that is currently accepted taxonomically.
Basionym
Volvox morum O.F.Müller
Type Information
Type: mense Octobri & Decembri; inter Lemnam; (INA 1996)
General Environment
This is a freshwater species.
Created: 11 April 2002 by M.D. Guiry.
Last updated: 11 July 2023
Verification of Data
Users are responsible for verifying the accuracy of information before use, as noted on the website Content page.
Nomenclatural note
There is some uncertainty as to the nature of the specific epithet. According to Cassell's Latin Dictionary "morum" is a neuter noun, meaning a mulberry or blackberry fruit, whilst "morus", a feminine noun, is a blackberry tree. The adjective "morus, mora, morum" means silly or foolish. Accordingly, it seems clear that O.F. Müller found this mulberry- or, more likely, blackberry-like "Volvox" and called it Volvox morum using "morum" as a noun in apposition [otherwise he would have used morus if it were an adjective as Volvox is masculine], but Bory, when he transferred the entity to Pandorina, erroneously altered this to Pandorina mora, and the epithet should therefore be corrected to Pandorina morum. O.F.Müller would not be likely to name his "Volvox" after a tree (and would have used "morus"), and certainly would not have used the adjectival "morus" thinking his lovely microscopic "animal" was silly or foolish. - (31 March 2011) - M.D. Guiry
Linking to this page: https://www.algaebase.org/search/species/detail/?species_id=27949
Citing AlgaeBase
Cite this record as:
M.D. Guiry in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 11 July 2023. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. https://www.algaebase.org; searched on 20 May 2025
