Forsteriana, Ng & Low, 2010

Ng, P. K. L. & Low, M. E. Y., 2010, On the generic nomenclature of nine brachyuran names, with four replacement names and two nomina protecta (Crustacea: Decapoda), Zootaxa 2489 (1), pp. 34-46 : 35

Forsteriana nom. nov. for Forsteria Bott, 1969 ( Trichodactylidae H. Milne Edwards, 1853 ) preoccupied by

Forsteria Tippmann, 1960 ( Insecta : Coleoptera : Cerambycidae )

Walter Forster was a director of what is now known as the Zoologische Staatsammlung München (Munich State Zoological Collection). He was an accomplished entomologist instrumental in expanding the collection’s insect holdings. In his honour, two fellow German zoologists named homonymous genera after him.

Friederich F. Tippmann (1960: 212–214) described a new genus and species of cerambycid beetle, Forsteria unguicularis . The genus was also the basis for a new tribe, Forsterini, established by Tippmann (1960: 210). Although there was no explicit derivation of the generic name in his paper, a new species in the same publication (p. 166), Acanthoderes forsteri , was “kindly dedicated” to “Herrn Dr. Walter Forster, München”, and whose name is found throughout this publication as a collector. Forsteria Tippmann, 1960 , is today regarded as a junior synonym of Falsamblesthis Breuning, 1959 . Although taxonomically invalid, the name remains available for the purposes of homonymy.

Bott (1969: 37) named a new subgenus of trichodactylid crab, Valvidia ( Forsteria ), after the “Direktor der Zoologischen Sammlung des Bayerischen Staates in München, Dr. Walter Forster”. Bott (1969) designated Valdivia (Forsteria) venezuelensis edentata Bott, 1969 , as the type species, and included another subspecies, Valdivia (Forsteria) venezuelensis venezuelensis Rathbun, 1905 , in the genus. Rodríguez (1992: 98) raised Bott’s (1969) name to a full genus and placed Valdivia (Forsteria) venezuelensis edentata Bott, 1969 , in the synonymy of Trichodactylus (Valdivia) venezuelensis Rathbun, 1905 . Magalhães & Türkay (1996: 100) confirmed this synonymy, stating that: “After having examined the material […], it becomes clear that only one species is involved and that […] Bott’s taxa cannot be separated from F. [= Forsteria ] venezuelensis .”

As Forsteria Bott, 1969 , is a junior homonym of Forsteria Tippmann, 1960 , we propose Forsteriana nom. nov. for Bott’s name. The gender is feminine, and the type species is Valdivia (Forsteria) venezuelensis edentata Bott, 1969 .