Aglaophenia inconstans Fraser 1941

Aglaophenia inconstans Fraser, 1941b

Aglaophenia inconstans Fraser, 1941b: 86, pl. 18, figs. 13a, b.

Syntypes. USNM 43457: USA, Alaska, Bering Sea, Pribilof Islands, S of St. George Island, R / V Albatross Sta. 3497, 56°18’N, 169°38’W, 157 m, 17 July 1893, large beam trawl, about 11 colonies or colony fragments along with several detached hydrocladia, to ca. 15 cm high when straightened, in only fair to poor condition, without gonophores, labelled “ type ”, ethanol.

Lectotype, by present designation. USNM 43457: USA, Alaska, Bering Sea, Pribilof Islands, S of St. George Island, R / V Albatross Sta. 3497, 56°18’N, 169°38’W, 157 m, 17 July 1893, large beam trawl, one colony, ca. 14 cm high when straightened, in only fair condition, without gonophores; ethanol.

Paralectotypes. USNM 1458872: USA, Alaska, Bering Sea, Pribilof Islands, S of St. George Island, R / V Albatross Sta. 3497, 56°18’N, 169°38’W, 157 m, 17 July 1893, large beam trawl, about 10 colonies or colony fragments along with several detached hydrocladia, to ca. 15 cm high when straightened, in poor to only fair condition, without gonophores, ethanol.

BCPM 976-00784-001: USA, Alaska, Bering Sea, Pribilof Islands, S of St. George Island, U.S. F.C. Sta. 3497, 17 July 1893, several colony fragments, in poor condition, without corbulae, labelled “co-type”; 60% IPA.

Type locality. USA, Alaska: Bering Sea, 56°18’N, 169°38’W, 86 fm (157 m) (Fraser 1941b).

Current status. Valid.

Remarks. Fraser (1941b) designated material at the NMNH (USNM 43457) as the “ type ” of Aglaophenia inconstans. The NMNH collection was thereby fixed as the name-bearing type (ICZN Art. 72.1.2). Fraser’s original description (“Colonies varying in appearance…”), and a later account (“In some cases there were no branches, but in others the stem is definitely branched…”; Fraser 1947a: 435), indicate that more than one colony was examined in describing the species. We found that the original “ type ” collection included multiple colonies or colony fragments. Accordingly, a lectotype specimen was selected from the collection to objectively define the species. It was returned to a vial together with the original labels and collection number (USNM 43457). The remaining specimens in the series, constituting paralectotypes, were removed to a separate vial and assigned a new collection number (USNM 1458872).

Material of the species from the same collection (R/V Albatross Sta. 3497) as the lectotype, in the Fraser Hydroid Collection at the RBCM (BCPM 976-00784-001), bears the label “co-type”. However, it does not have a name-bearing function (i.e., it was not part of the original syntype series) because it was not fixed originally as a name-bearing type along with the NMNH collection (see ICZN Arts. 72.1.2 and 72.4.7). It therefore comprises paralectotype material.

Only the trophosome of Aglaophenia inconstans was found and described by Fraser (1941b). The species is not currently listed in WoRMS.