Nereis pulsatoria (Savigny, 1822)

Faulwetter, Sarah, Simboura, Nomiki, Katsiaras, Nikolaos, Chatzigeorgiou, Giorgos & Arvanitidis, Christos, 2017, Polychaetes of Greece: an updated and annotated checklist, Biodiversity Data Journal 5, pp. 20997-20997 : 20997

Nereis pulsatoria (Savigny, 1822)

Nereis pulsatoria (Savigny, 1822) | Nereis zonata Malmgren, 1867

Notes

The taxonomy and nomenclature of Nereis pulsatoria and Nereis zonata are confused. In literature, both Nereis pulsatoria (Savigny, 1822) and Nereis pulsatoria Audouin & Milne Edwards 1834 are used (the latter not as a new name but as a reference to Savigny's species, thus not a homonym). It is currently unclear whether these two actually refer to the same species. Fauvel (1923) considers Nereis pulsatoria Audouin & Milne Edwards 1834 a synonym of Nereis zonata but does not mention Savigny's species. Núñez (2004) synonymises Nereis zonata Malmgren 1867 and Nereis pulsatoria Audouin & Milne Edwards, 1834 with Nereis pulsatoria (Savigny 1822), but without any mention of studied material or reference to the original description. Gravina et al. (2015) point out that the description of Nereis pulsatoria by Núñez (2004) is inconsistent when compared to the corresponding illustrations and that the described species differs from Nereis zonata in chaetal and paragnath arrangement. Gravina et al. (2015) consider only Savigny's species valid and restrict it to the Atlantic, but the authors base this statement on the respective species entries in WoRMS, which have not been reviewed recently, contain partly incorrect information and may constitute database inconsistencies. If the species are indeed synonymous, Nereis pulsatoria , being the older name, should have priority over Nereis zonata . Until this confusion is resolved, the name Nereis pulsatoria is kept here and Nereis zonata considered its synonym. Specimens from Greece have both been reported under the name Nereis zonata and Nereis pulsatoria sensu Núñez (2004).