Entomolithus (petrified insect) is an obsolete scientific name for several trilobites, first published by Linnaeus in 1753, before the starting point of zoological nomenclature in a list under the heading "Paradoxus: 3. Entomolithus Monoculi". This is why this first name has no formal status. After the starting point of the zoological nomenclature, the name was published again in 1759, but with a different description. Because scholars incorrectly considered Entomolithus Linnaeus, 1759 a junior homonym, it was later replaced by Entomostracites Wahlenberg, 1818. Although the name as published in 1759 was in fact valid, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature decided to suppress Entomolithus Linnaeus, 1759, because this name had gone out of use for a very long time.[1]
Species originally assigned to Entomolithus have been renamed.
- E. paradoxus = Paradoxides paradoxissimus
- E. paradoxus α expansus = Asaphus expansus[2]
References
- ↑ Poulsen, C. (1956). "Proposed use of the Plenary Powers to secure the availability of the generic names Olenus Dalman [1827], and Paradoxides Brogniard [1822] (Class Trilobita) for use in the sense in which these names are customarily employed". Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 12 (1). Archived from the original on 2014-01-11. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
- ↑ Moore, R.C. (1959). Arthropoda I - Arthropoda General Features, Proarthropoda, Euarthropoda General Features, Trilobitomorpha. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Vol. Part O. Boulder, Colorado/Lawrence, Kansas: Geological Society of America/University of Kansas Press. pp. O446 and O468. ISBN 0-8137-3015-5.