WoRMS name details
Nereis nanciae Day, 1949
329700 (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:329700)
unaccepted (subjective synonym)
Species
marine, brackish, fresh, terrestrial
recent only
Day, John H. (1949). On the Polychaeta collected by Mr. J. Colman at St. Helena. <em>Journal of the Linnean Society of London.</em> 41(281): 434-451., available online at https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/41/281/434/2682877
page(s): 445, figure 4; note: St Helena, Atlantic Ocean, as Nereis nanciae [details] Available for editors
[request]
page(s): 445, figure 4; note: St Helena, Atlantic Ocean, as Nereis nanciae [details] Available for editors
[request]
Type locality contained in St. Helena Exclusive Economic Zone
, Note St. Helena Island, Atlantic Ocean. The type...
type locality contained in St. Helena Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
From editor or global species database
Type locality St. Helena Island, Atlantic Ocean. The type locality is unclear as specimens were collected at several locations. Jamestown geolocation is at -15.9234, -5.7184 [details]
Etymology Not stated. Nereis nanciae is assumed named after a 'Nancy' but who she was is a mystery. She was not the collector as that...
Etymology Not stated. Nereis nanciae is assumed named after a 'Nancy' but who she was is a mystery. She was not the collector as that was John Colman, who has described his collecting work (Colman, 1946) [details]
Read, G.; Fauchald, K. (Ed.) (2025). World Polychaeta Database. Nereis nanciae Day, 1949. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=329700 on 2025-04-16
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Nomenclature
original description
Day, John H. (1949). On the Polychaeta collected by Mr. J. Colman at St. Helena. <em>Journal of the Linnean Society of London.</em> 41(281): 434-451., available online at https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/41/281/434/2682877
page(s): 445, figure 4; note: St Helena, Atlantic Ocean, as Nereis nanciae [details] Available for editors [request]
page(s): 445, figure 4; note: St Helena, Atlantic Ocean, as Nereis nanciae [details] Available for editors
[request]Taxonomy
source of synonymy
Wilson, Robin S. (1984). <i>Neanthes</i> (Polychaeta: Nereididae) from Victoria with descriptions of two new species. <em>Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria.</em> 96(4): 209-226.
note: suggested move to synonym of Neanthes helenae [details] Available for editors [request]
status source Villalobos-Guerrero, Tulio F.; Kara, Jyothi; Idris, Izwandy. (2021). Redescriptions of Neanthes Kinberg, 1865 (Annelida: Errantia: Nereididae) species from worldwide regions. <em>European Journal of Taxonomy.</em> 760(1): 101-135., available online at https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/1443
page(s): 114, 123; note: confirms synonymy to N. helenae, subsequent to re-examination of syntypes [details] Available for editors [request]
note: suggested move to synonym of Neanthes helenae [details] Available for editors
[request]status source Villalobos-Guerrero, Tulio F.; Kara, Jyothi; Idris, Izwandy. (2021). Redescriptions of Neanthes Kinberg, 1865 (Annelida: Errantia: Nereididae) species from worldwide regions. <em>European Journal of Taxonomy.</em> 760(1): 101-135., available online at https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/1443
page(s): 114, 123; note: confirms synonymy to N. helenae, subsequent to re-examination of syntypes [details] Available for editors
[request]Other
additional source
Colman, John. (1946). Marine Biology in St. Helena. <em>Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.</em> 116(2): 266-280., available online at https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1946.tb00123.x
note: Sampling and collecting information [details] Available for editors [request]
note: Sampling and collecting information [details] Available for editors
[request]
Present Present in aphia/obis/gbif/idigbio Inaccurate Introduced: alien Containing type locality
Syntype NHMUK 1950.1.5.72-95., geounit Atlantic Ocean [details]
From editor or global species database
Classification Day (1949) and the NHM data portal use the classification "Nereis nanciae'. However, Villalobos-Guerrero et al. (2021) state twice that the original name was "Nereis (Neanthes) nanciae". This is not correct. Day did not use subgenus Neanthes in his naming, although in his text he states species fitted Neanthes because all paragnaths were points. However, this does not help as this characteristic would also fit Nereis species. [details]Etymology Not stated. Nereis nanciae is assumed named after a 'Nancy' but who she was is a mystery. She was not the collector as that was John Colman, who has described his collecting work (Colman, 1946) [details]
Holotype Day did not name a holotype, although he may have named a type specimen lot ("Type St. H. 3 a"), This appears to be Day's own numbering system for each of his new species (St Helena 3a here) as it is not matched in the account of the collector Colman (Colman 1946), who only numbers trawl and dredge stations. At the NHM dataportal the type designation is 'syntypes' for specimen lots NHMUK 1950.1.5.72-95 and the station is said to be "Station M 3A". This maybe a misunderstanding of the meaning of Day's numbering system. Day's comment was that there were "Numerous [N. nanciae] specimens from practically every collection station from upper part of the intertidal zone at the Dockyard, Crown Point, down to 40 fathoms off Jarnestown." Villalobos-Guerrero et al. (2021) use 'holotype' for one specimen from NHMUK 1950.1.5.72-95, and 'paratype' for the rest, but this does not make sense as '72-95' is a range, and would be several specimens or specimen lots. That there was a designated holotype is not supported by the record as syntypes at the NHM data portal. The text of Villalobos-Guerrero et al describing the location does not make sense, regarded as a single station, as it mentions upper intertidal and 73 m depth in the same sentence. Altogether the type information published is confused and needs to be rechecked. [details]
Type locality St. Helena Island, Atlantic Ocean. The type locality is unclear as specimens were collected at several locations. Jamestown geolocation is at -15.9234, -5.7184 [details]
