The correct authorship of Arthropoda—A reappraisal

Abstract

The scientific name Arthropoda has been repeatedly cited with various incorrect authorship data. This unsatis-factory situation was reviewed in 2013 and the “correct citation” was affirmed to be “Arthropoda von Siebold, 1848” based on the available evidence. Here, the review of historical literature is expanded with additional sources from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. The Greek compound noun “Arthropoda” was used as a scientific name at the rank of class already in 1843, containing the subclasses Crustacea, Arachnoidea, and Insecta. Additionally, the French morphological term “arthropodes” has been used in Zoology since at least 1832. The new citation of the name is proposed as “Arthropoda Gravenhorst, 1843”.