1 62 Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 44(3) September 1 987 Case 2599 Discocyclina Gumbel, 1870 (Foraminiferida): proposed designation of Orbitolites prattii Michelin, 1847 as type species Alfred R. Loeblich, Jr and Helen Tappan Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1567, U.S.A. Abstract. The purpose of this application is to designate Orbitolites prattii Michelin, 1847, previously misidentified as Orbitoides papyracea (Boubee, 1832), as the type species of the foraminiferan genus Discocyclina Gumbel, 1870. 1. Discocyclina Giimbel, 1870 (p. 687) was described as a subgenus of Orbitoides d'Orbigny in Lyell, 1848 (p. 12), elevated to generic rank by H. Douville (1922, p. 61, 64), and made type genus of the subfamily DiscocYCLiNrNAE by Galloway (1928, p. 55). This was later elevated to family rank as discocyclinidae (Vaughan & Cole in Cushman, 1940, p. 327). 2. Orbitoides (Discocyclina) Gumbel (1870, p. 687-688) was described with six originally included nominal species, in order given as 'D. papyracea Boubee, D. ephippium Schloth., D. tenella Giimb., D. aspera Giimb., D. applanata Giimb., and D. dispansa J. de Sow.', but none was indicated as type species. 3. The first of these species, Nummulites papyracea Boubee, 1832 (p. 445), was originally described from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Boulogne, France, but was wrongly given the name Orbitolites gensacica by Leymerie (1851, p. 190), who stated that he preferred to use the specific nsLme papyracea for a new Eocene species that he was describing from Biarritz, France. In this incorrect usage, he was apparently followed by Giimbel (1870), who illustrated as Orbitoides papyracea (plate III, figs. 3-6) some Paleocene-Eocene specimens from the north Alpine Nummulitenkalk; other figures he gave for Orbitoides papyracea (plate III, figs 7, 8) were of the original specimens of 'Orbitoides pratti Michelin and Orbitoides fortisii d'Arch.' respectively, both from Biarritz and of Eocene age. 4. Also following Leymerie in the incorrect usage of the name for an Eocene species, Dollfus (1889, p. 1226) designated 'Orbitoides papyracea Boub.' as type species of Discocyclina. As a misidentified type species this designation requires action by the Commission under Art. 70 b of the Code. 5. Galloway (1928, p. 56), recognizing the misidentification, stated for Discocyclina: 'Genotype (first species, here designated) Discocyclina pratti {y['\c\vt\m) = Orbitulites pratti Michehn, Icon. Zoophytol., 1846, p. 278, pi. 63, fig. 14 (Upper Eocene, Biarritz, ¥vdinc€) = Orbitoides (Discocyclina) papyracea Gumbel, 1870 (not Nummulites papyracea Boubee, 1832, which is Simplorbites).'' 6. Discocyclina and the family DiscocvcLiNroAE as generally recognised are restric-ted to the Paleocene and Eocene, as is D. papyracea sensu Leymerie (1851), Dollfus (1889) and Giimbel (1870), although the original Nummulites papyracea Boubee was from the late Cretaceous. A
BioStor
