On two reports associated with James Wood-Mason and Alfred William Alcock published by the Indian Museum and the Indian Marine Survey between 1890 and 1891: Implications for malacostracan nomenclature

Abstract

Two rare documents associated with the Indian Museum and the Indian Marine Survey for the administrative year April 1890 to March 1891 have been examined and found to have nomenclatural consequences for malacostracan crustaceans. Even though they constitute available published works according to the International Code for Zoological Nomenclature, these reports have rarely been cited. Dating these two publications is of importance as they make decapod scientific names available and, in a few instances, describe the same taxa. After searching the collections deposited in the Asian and African Room, British Library, the Administration Report of the Indian Marine for the year April 1890 to March 1891 could be dated with some degree of certainty as 25 August 1891. In contrast, dating the Indian Museum Annual Report proved more difficult because after examination of copies held by the General Library in the Natural History Museum, London, it was evident that not all of these reports were consistently published on time to meet an end of year deadline. However, the publication of volume XXII of the Indian Museum Annual Report for the year April 1890 to March 1891 appeared to be contemporary with the year printed at the bottom of the title page. As no exact date could be established with confidence, the publication date for this volume was fixed as 31 December 1891 in accordance with ICZN Art. 21.3.2. Therefore the Administration Report of the Indian Marine (published 25 August 1891) is considered to take precedence over the Indian Museum Annual Report (published 31 December 1891) and as such the names made available in the former take priority. As original copies of the Administration Report of the Indian Marine are not readily available in most libraries and few scientists have actually had access to these publications, the relevant Appendix No. XIII, in which the names of several malacostracan taxa are made available, is reproduced here. Since the appendix is not conclusively attributable to a specific author, it is considered to be written anonymously and should therefore be cited as Anonymous (1891). A number of names in Appendix No. XIII are available since they are accompanied by a brief description of the taxa they denote, and are either attributable to James Wood-Mason or remain with anonymous authorship; others are nomina nuda without a diagnosis or indication, or have been diagnosed previously in the "Natural History Notes from H.M. Indian Marine Survey Steamer Investigator". The nomenclatural implications for eight names made available in Anonymous (1891) are discussed: Glyphocrangon caeca, Glyphocrangon sculptus var. coecescens, Psalidopodidae, Psalidopus, Psalidopus mirabilis, Psathyrocaris, Psathyrocaris fragilis and Psopheticus crepitans. The nomenclatural history of various other taxa, initially denoted by unavailable names in Anonymous (1891), is also documented. The authorships of the various crustacean taxa collected by the Indian Marine Survey Steamer Investigator during the seasons 1889-1890 and 1890-1891, and published in two series of connected parts in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, are also re-assessed and summarised. A rare document containing the list of R.I.M.S. Investigator stations for the period 1884-1913 is reproduced for the future benefit of the scientific community. © 2014 Magnolia Press.