Nomenclatural notes on Posidonomya clarae Emmrich, 1844, the type species of Claraia Bittner, 1901

Abstract

Claraia Bittner, 1901 is a prominent extinct bivalve genus of the Permian-Triassic transition (Newell and Boyd, 1995). Although it first appeared in the Wuchiapingian (Late Permian; Fang Zong-Jie, 2010), its massive proliferation in the immediate wake of the end-Permian mass extinction makes it the archetype of a cosmopolitan and eurytopic disaster species and a hallmark of the base of the Triassic (e.g., Schubert and Bottjer, 1995). Diener (1923, p. 38) fixed “Posidonomya Clarai Emmrich (1844)” as the type species of Claraia by subsequent designation, but spelling and authorship of this species have been controversial. This short contribution aims to clarify these issues.