Von Siebold en zijn malacologische eponiemen

In the beginning of the 19th century trade-relations between Japan and the Netherlands were quite unique. As a result, the Natural History Museums of Amsterdam and Leiden acquired important collections of Japanese fauna. The collections of P.F.B. von Siebold were undoubtedly the most important. His zoölogical collection was deposited in the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (RMNH) in Leiden. Through exchange, Hugh Cuming acquired shells from the Von Siebold Collection from the RMNH. Some of these specimens were described as new taxa. Named after Von Siebold were: Tornatella siebaldii, Littorina sieboldii, Haliotis sieboldii, Clausilia sieboldtii, Conus sieboldii, Fissurella sieboldii, Artemis sieboldii, Helix sieboldtiana, Lutraria sieboldii and Tellina sieboldii. The first species named after Von Siebold was “Campylaea sieboltii De Haan”. To our knowledge a description of this species was never published and hence considered a nomen nudum. The species Lophocercus sieboldii is named after Von Siebold although this is not mentioned in the description. The name Von Siebold became more or less a ”synonym” for Japan, which prompted A. Adams to name several species, which he collected in Japan in the second half of the 19th century, after Von Siebold: Scaphander sieboldii, Smaragdinella sieboldi and Thecodonta sieboldi. The last three molluscan species named after Von Siebold are: Fusus sieboldi, Sepioteuthis sieboldi and Aplysia sieboldiana.