Aubenton, F. d'

Daget, Jacques

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Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 29 1 
HETEROTIS EHRENBERG, 1829, AND CLUPISUDIS SWAINSON, 1839 
(PISCES): PROPOSAL TO PLACE ON THE OFFICIAL LIST OF 
GENERIC NAMES IN ZOOLOGY. Z.N.(S.) 1807 
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By F. #Aubenton and J. Daget (Ojîce de la Recherche Scientijque et Technique I J -  Outre-Mer, Paris) 
The object of the present application is to request the Commission to 
confirm the validity of the generic names Heterotis Ehrenberg in Riippell, 1829 
and Clupisudis Swainson, 1839. 
History of the Case: 
2. In 1817 Cuvier (Règne Aninial (ed. 1) 2 : 180) defined a new genus 
Sudis without including any nominal species in it. The same generic name had 
already been introduced validly by Rafinesque in 1810 (Caratteri di alcuni nuovi 
generi e nuove specie di animali e piante della Sicilia: 60) for an entirely different 
fish. During an expedition to Egypt made during the years 1820-1825, C. G. 
Ehrenberg recorded a fish from the Nile which he called Heterotis niloticus and 
of which he had made a plate dated 1827". 
3. However neither the name nor the plate were published at this date and 
Ehrenberg was content to leave his discovery to ichthyologists of the period: 
Cuvier, Valenciennes and Riippell. [It was not until 1836 that he himself used 
the name Heterotis niloticus in Abh. phy-KI. K. Ak. Wiss. Berlin, 1834 : 532.1 
Actually Cuvier in 1829 (Règne Aniinal, (ed. 2), 2 : 180) recorded the species 
under the name Sudis niloticus Ehrenberg at the same time as a species from 
Senegal and one from Brazil which he named Sudis adansonii and Sudis gigas 
respectively. Since no type-species was designated at the time, these three 
nominal taxa were equally acceptable for a subsequent designation of the 
type-species of Sudis Cuvier, 1817 (non Rafinesque, 1810). All authors have 
followed one another in recognizing the validity of the specific name niloticus 
published for the first time by Cuvier in 1829 and attributed explicitly by him 
to Ehrenberg.' 
The same year but a little later, Riippell(1829, Beschreibung undAbbildung 
mehrerer m e r  Fische ìin Nil endeckt: 10) gave a detailed description of the species 
which he named Sudis niloticus. In a footnote the same author added: " Da 
iibrigens gerade Herr Valenciennes meine hier zu beschreibende Sudisart von 
dem Heterotis niloticus des Herrn Dr. Ehrenberg verscheiden glaubt, welches 
durchaus irrig ist." This citation of an available specific name in conjunction 
with a new generic group name constituted an indication in the sense of Article 
16 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and renders available 
the generic name Heterotis Ehrenberg in Rüppell, 1829. Helicobranclius, 
4. 
* This plate on which is printed '' ad Nat. del C. G. Ehrenberg " and " F. W. Linger jun. 
Sculp, Berlin 1827 " was not actually published until 1899 in a posthumous work of Hemprich 
and Ehrenberg entitled: Synzbolae physicae. . . . The legend of the plate, drawn up by 
Hilgendorf, bears the title: Heterotis nilotiea H. et E. Heterotis nilotieus Ehrenberg". 
I It represents, in left lateral view, an individual measuring 33 cm. in standard length and 37 cm. 
in total length. Small figures indicate the number of rays observed on the fins of the form: 
P.ll; V.6: D.34: A.37; C.14. 
. 
Bull. 2001. Nomenel., Vol. 24, Part 5. December 1967. 
o. R, s. 8. o. M. 
292 Bulletin of Zoological Nometiclature 
proposed by Hyrtl in 1854 (Deiiksclir. Ak.  Wien. 8 : 86) as a more correct 
name for Heterotis is an unnecessary new name and falls as a synonym of 
Heterotis Ehr. in Rüppell. 
For the genus Sudis Cuvier, 1817, non Sudis Rafinesque 1810, Swainson 
in 1839 (Natural History of Fishes. . . 2 : 286) proposed the replacement name 
Clupisudis. In virtue of Article 67 i of the International Code of Zoological 
Nomenclature this generic name must have applied to it the same type-species 
as that of the replaced name, Sudis Cuvier, 1817. This last has been designated 
by Jordan (1917, The genera of Fishes 1 : 99), who wrote: “ Sudis Cuvier, 1817, 
type (not named) Sudis gigas Cuvier.” The generic names, Arapaima J. 
Müller, 1843 (Beiträge zur Keiitniss der natürliclieii Familien der Fische : 326) 
and Vastres Valenciennes, 1846 (Hist. naturelle des Poissons 19 : 433) also 
proposed as replacement names for Sudis Cuvier, 1817, are junior synonyms of 
Clupisudis Swainson, 1839. 
Gender and termination of the root to be employed in the formation of derivatives: 
6. The word Heterotis alludes to the suprabranchial organ. Valenciennes, 
1846 (Hist. Poiss. 19 : 465) writes: “ M. Ehrenberg le croyant une annexe de 
l’oreille, imagina. . . de désigner son poisson par la dénomination Heterotis.” 
This name has been formed from two greek words &wpov and ou<, b ~ ó ~ ,  
then latinized into -is. Now latin words ending in -is, of the third declension, 
are masculine or feminine and are declined like lapis, lapidis or like collis, 
collis. In choosing niloticus as the name of the species, it is clear that Ehrenberg 
intended to give to Heterotis the masculine gender and that Hilgendorf (in 
Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1899) was in error in writing “ Heterotis nilotica 
H. & E.” The same author in the legend to plate IX, writes in the genitive 
Heterotis niloticae while on the plate itself one finds Heterotidis niloticae. The 
correct form of the genitive being Heterotis, the name of the family-group 
corresponding should be spelled HETEROTIDAE ; similarly the family-group name 
derived from Clupisudis should be spelled CLUPISUDIDAE. These two names 
were published in this form simultaneously by Jordan (1923, A classzjïcatiorz of 
Fishes: 123). 
Type-species aiid synonymies 
7. Heterotis niloticus being the single nominal species originally included 
in the genus Heterotis, it follows that Sudis niloticus (Ehrenberg) Cuvier, 1829 
is the type-species by monotypy. The type of the species cannot now be found 
in the Berlin Museum. Dr. C. Karrer writes in a letter of 6.4.1967: “ In  
unserem Eingangskatalog ist unter der Nr. 3935 ein von Hemprich und Ehren- 
berg gesammeltes Exemplar als Trockenpräparat aufgeführt, trägt oben hier 
kein Typuszeichen . . . Unter den jetzt noch vorhandenen Trockenpräparaten 
befindet es sich aber leider nicht mehr.” Consequently of the type specimen (or 
syntype specimens), on which the nominal species Heterotis niloticus was 
founded, there remains only the plate engraved in 1827, with which to identify 
the taxon. By the application of Article 74b of the International Code we 
designate this figure to represent the lectotype of the species which must be 
validly designated by the binomen Heterotis niloticus (Ehrenberg in Cuvier), 
1829. 
5.  
Bulletin of Zoological Noineizclature 293 
8. Sudis adansonii Cuvier, 1829 and Heterotis elzrenbergii Valenciennes, 
1846 are subjective synonyms. Actually the type of Sudis andansonii is a 
specimen from Senegal collected by Adanson and deposited in the Muséum 
national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, as No. 3608, while the types of Heterotis 
elzrenbergii are two specimens from the Nile collected by Darnaud and deposited 
in the Paris Museum as No. A 824 and B 2221. 
Sudis gigas is the type-species of the genus Clupisudis by the subsequent 
designation of Jordan. Now the specific name gigas was published for the 
first time not by Cuvier himself in 1829 but by Schinz (H. R.) in a german 
translation of the first edition of the Règne Animal (1822, Das Tliierreich 2 : 305). 
Schinz made reference to the figure published under the name Vastrès given by 
Cuvier in 1817 (Règne Animal 4, pl. X, fig. 4) and which represented a specimen 
from Brazil presented by the Cabinet of Lisbon in 1808. This specimen 
preserved in the Paris Museum as No. A 8837 is the type of the species which 
must be validly designated by the binomen Clupisudis gigas (Schinz in Cuvier), 
1822. 
Vastres cu,)ieriValenciennes, 1846 (Hist. Poissons19 : 441) is anobjective 
synonym of Clupisudis gigas. Vastres inapae Valenciennes, 1846 (Hist. Poiss. 
19 : 449) is a subjective synonym of which the type, collected in Guiana by 
Pradier, is preserved in the Paris Museum as No. A 8836. Sudispirarucu Spix, 
1829 and Vastres agassizii Valenciennes, 1846 are subjective synonyms both 
having for type the figure published by Spix (1 829, Selecta genera et species . . ., 
pl. 16). Finally Vastres arapaima Valenciennes, 1846 (Hist. Poiss. 19 : 461) is 
equally a subjective synonym having for its type the figure published under the 
name Sudis gigas by Schomburgk (1841, The Natural History of the Fislies of 
Guiana 1, pl. xi). 
11. In conclusion the International Commission of Zoological Nomen- 
clature is requested: 
(1) to place on the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology, the following 
names : 
(a) Heterotis Ehrenberg in Riippell, 1829 (gender : masculine), type- 
species, by monotypy, Sudis niloticus Ehrenberg in Cuvier, 1829 ; 
(b) Clupisudis Swainson, 1839 (gender : masculine), type-species, by 
subsequent designation by Jordan, 19 17, for Sudis Cuvier 18 17, 
Sudis gigas Schinz in Cuvier, 1822 ; 
(2) to place on the Official List of Specific Names in Zoology, the following 
names : 
(a) niloticus Ehrenberg in Cuvier 1829, as published in the binomen 
Sudis niloticus (type-species of Heterotis Ehrenberg in Riippell, 
1829) ; 
(b)gigas Schinz in Cuvier, 1822, as published in the binomen Sudis 
gigas (type-species of Clupisudis Swainson, 1839) ; 
(3) to place on the Official List of Family-Group names in Zoology the 
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following names (Pisces, Osteoglossiformes) : 
Heterotis Ehrenberg in Rüppell, 1829) ; 
(a) HETEROTIDAE Jordan 1923 (class. Fislz. : 123), (type-genUS 
(b) CLUPISUDIDAE Jordan 1923 (type-genus Clupisudis Swainson, 1839). 
H e t e s o t i s  Ehrenbesg, ’1829, and c l u p i s i d i m  Swainson9 
%a39 ( p i s c a s )  : p r o p o s a l  to p l a c e  o n  t h e  o f f i c i a l  list of  
gene r i c  n m c s  i n  I;aoaogg e Z.H. ( S . )  7 807 
S E  A T E  
OF A PAPER PUBLISHED BY 
THE INTERNATlOIQTAL TRUST FOR ZOOLOGICAL NBMENCLATURE 
ON BEHALF OF 
TWE ~ ~ A ~ O ~ ~   ION ON ZOOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE 
This paper contains an application relating to B question of zoological nomenclatwe 
which has been submitted to the International Commission on Zoological Nomencl~tme 
for debion. As a p my5 fhis paper has b published in the “EBUlletin of 
Zoological  omen^^^^ ’$. The volme iu which paper was so pubfished and the 
date of publication me sbom at &e foot of the h t  page of the paper. 
2. The object of publishing applications in the ‘‘ Bulletin of Zoolof$cal Nomencla- 
ture ’’ is to provide an o p p o ~ ~  to interested specialists to submit comments tn the 
Commission on the action recommended in the applications so published. For this 
pnspose an htenal of six months from the date of pwblication is allowed to elapse before 
the International Co an starts to vote on any given application. 
3. ebne of the principal objects of the International T m t  for Zoological Nomenda- 
ture in prosdiug authors with separates (oE-prhts] of applications published in the 
Bulletin is to secure a rapid and wide distribution of those applications among 
sts, în order to provide to those specialists an opportunity of commenthg 
npon the applications in question before a decision is reaehed by the International 
Commission. 
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4. Recipients of separates of papers published in the “ Bnlletiu ’’ are therefore 
particularly requested to furnish their comments on the action proposed as soon as 
possible to the Assistant Secretary, the Intemational Commission on Zoologid Nomen- 
clame c/o British Musenm (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London, S.W.7, 
England. 


Heterotis, Ehrenberg, 1829, and Clupisudis Swainson, 1839 (Pisces) : proposal to place on the official list of generic names in zoology ZN (S.) 1807

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