Amano shrimp

[Daudin]

What is correct scientific name of this shrimp? Usually is called as Caridina japonica, but here Robert called it as Caridina multidentata?

[dugrant153]

I believe it's Caridina japonica. That's what I've seen all around. That name applies to the Yamato/Amato/Japonica shrimp from my understanding.

never heard of the multidentata.

[Daudin]

I also believe the correct name is C. japonica. I only interest why Robert unusually used different species name multidentata. Is it mistake? Is multidentata older synonym to japonica?

[dugrant153]

according to another forum:
"Caridina japonica is a junior synonym of C. multidentata"

that's what I found so far.

[Daudin]

After your notice I also found the discussion. If it is true we will have to use multidentata name.

[Robert]

Hi,
the name Caridina multidentata was the first scientific name for this shrimp. Later on somebody gave this shrimp another name, Caridina japonica. In the past such things happened quit often because the communication between scientists, Universities etc. was not that easy and so a scientist couldn't get sometimes the holotypus as a comparison. In the end he gave this organism, which he believed is a new species, a new name because maybe the original description was not detailed enough and the organism he found differs in some points a lot from the description. Only a comparison with the holotypus would help in this case.
Only decades later somebody noticed this mistake and the name Caridina japonica became a junior synonym, which means it is not the right scientific name but a synonym. The oldest scientific name is always the valid one, if somebody does not split the whole genus into several new genuses. Badis was split for example into Badis and Dario. The species name is still the same then in this case, only the genus changes. An example of a junior synonym of a genus is Lebistes. The valid name is Poecilia. So the guppy got the name Poecilia reticulata Peters 1859 back. Lebistes reticulata is just a synonym.

BTW, you write only the genus name with a capital letter. The species designation is written in small letters. The scientific correct name of a species consists of at least the genus, the designation of the species, the Author and the year of the description. So Poecilia reticulata Peters 1859 is the valid species name of the guppy. Nowadays it consist often even of three names: the genus, the designation species and the designation of the subspecies (all three together are the name of the species). You can also add the race or strain but it is not part of the scientific name and so you write it like this Poecilia reticulata 'red' Peters 1859. BTW, I can't find all authors and description years of our common shrimp species, that's why I don't add them.

regards
Robert

[dugrant153]

I feel like a scientist! mwa hahahaha

thanks Robert. That was very enlightening.

[Daudin]

Robert,

thank you for your exhaustive reply and explanation. I know International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Online version is on - again I may not write address >( . The big problem in search of correct name and original description is publication in less known local papers many years ago. Acquisition of such papers is very hard. Another problem of old descriptions is often very poor and generalized description that match to many species recognized today or loss of holotype materials.
Robert, do you know how many scientists around the world study taxonomy of this crustacean group approximately?

[Robert]

Hi Daudin,
no, I don't know how many scientists work on them. I know that there is a specialist of Caridina at the University of Singapore and there is also a Macrobrachium expert at the same University. In Germany and Austria some hobbiests like Werner Klotz or Andreas Karge also work on the identification of shrimps. I know some of them in person and they are the best source of information for our hobby because they work with the species we are interested in. They published some very useful papers (in German) about the serrata group, C. breviata etc. in the past.

I know the basics of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, too. As a biology student you also learn such things.

regards
Robert