Catalogue of Diatom Names

Elisabeth Fourtanier & J. Patrick Kociolek

The Catalogue of Diatom Names is a compilation of names of diatom genera, species and taxa at infraspecific ranks (62,000 names). It has been assembled during the past 12 years by staff at the California Academy of Sciences. It includes all scientific names of diatom genera, species, and taxa at infraspecific ranks, with authorship, date, place of publication, page of description, basionym or replaced name (if applicable), status (valid or invalid), and occasionally type information.

Whenever possible we provide a link to the Index Nominum Algarum (INA) (see http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/INA.html), a database of algal names (including at least 40,000 diatom names) compiled by Paul Silva and maintained at the Herbarium of the University of California, Berkeley.

An initial set of 45,000 names was entered from the Catalogue of VanLandingham (VLC), and compared with the unpublished New Species File of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP). The database was then compared with the Index Nominum Algarum (INA). Comparison between data sets resulted in the addition of 11,000 names from ANSP and 4,600 names from INA, as well as the identification of numerous discrepancies. We have addressed many of these discrepancies and verified 30,000 records against their original publications.

The catalogue of diatom names includes a publication table. The publication table (12,600 entries) not only includes publications where new diatom taxa are described and new names are created, but other publications related to diatoms, in the fields of taxonomy, ecology, paleontology, etc.

The table of genus names (1,160 entries) contains nomenclatural information such as genus name, authorship, reference, page, type and author of typification (if applicable), nomenclatural status, and for some records, reference to recent revisions and monographs.

We are committed to make this database as complete, accurate and useful as possible. We will continue to address the remaining discrepancies between data sets, while adding new names to keep it current.