Bivalvia | Unionida | Unionoidea | Unionidae | Ambleminae | Lampsilini

genus Potamilus Rafinesque, 1818: synonymy

10 Recent freshwater species (11 total species)

Synonymy

Symphonota Rafinesque, 1831

(error for Symphynota Lea, 1829)
‘Lea’ of Authors.
Rafinesque, 1831. Continuation: 7.
Berge, 1847. Conch.-Buch: 69.
Gray, 1847. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 15: 196.
Rafinesque, 1864. [in] Binney & Tryon, reprint: 85.
Type species: Unio alatus Say, 1817 = Potamilus alatus

Symphinota Villa, 1841

(error for Symphynota Lea, 1829)
‘Lea’ of Authors.
Villa, 1841. Dispos. Syst. Conchyl.: 43.
Haas, 1969. Das Tierreich 88: 415.
Haas, 1969. Treatise on Invert. Paleo 1: N448.
Type species: Unio alatus Say, 1817 = Potamilus alatus

Megaptera Modell, 1964

(error for Metaptera Rafinesque, 1820)
‘Rafinesque’ of Authors.
‘Rafinesque’ Modell, 1964. Arch. Moll. 93: 85.
‘Rafinesque’ Haas, 1969. Treatise on Invert. Paleo 1: N455.
Type species: Unio alatus Say, 1817 = Potamilus alatus

Potamila Rafinesque, 1818

(error for Potamilus Rafinesque, 1818)
Rafinesque, 1818. Amer. Mon. Mag. 4: 107.
Rafinesque, 1820. Ann. Gén. Sci. Phys. 5 (13): 288.
Rafinesque, 1864. [in] Binney & Tryon, reprint: 24, 35.
Type species: Unio alatus Say, 1817 = Potamilus alatus

Potamilus Rafinesque, 1818

Rafinesque, 1818. Amer. Mon. Mag. 3: 355.
Rafinesque, 1864. [in] Binney & Tryon, reprint: 22.
Type species: Unio alatus Say, 1817 (sub. desig. by Morrison, 1969: 24) = Potamilus alatus

Proptera Rafinesque, 1819

(intro'd as sub-gen. of Unio Retzius, 1788; renamed Metaptera Rafinesque, 1820)
Rafinesque, 1819. Jour. Phys. Chim. Hist. Nat. 88: 426.
Rafinesque, 1864. [in] Binney & Tryon, reprint: 29.
Type species: Unio alatus Say, 1817 = Potamilus alatus

Metaphera Rafinesque, 1820

(error for Metaptera Rafinesque, 1820)
Rafinesque, 1820. Ann. Gén. Sci. Phys. 5 (13): ??.
Type species: Unio alatus Say, 1817 = Potamilus alatus

Leptodea Rafinesque, 1820

(intro'd as sub-gen. of Unio Retzius, 1788)
Rafinesque, 1820. Ann. Gén. Sci. Phys. 5 (13): 295.
Rafinesque, 1864. [in] Binney & Tryon, reprint: 40.
Type species: Unio (Leptodea) fragilis Rafinesque, 1820 (sub. desig. by Herrmannsen, 1847: 584) = Potamilus fragilis

Metaptera Rafinesque, 1820

(new name for Proptera Rafinesque, 1819)
Rafinesque, 1820. Ann. Gén. Sci. Phys. 5 (13): 299.
Rafinesque, 1864. [in] Binney & Tryon, reprint: 44.
Type species: Unio alatus Say, 1817 (sub. desig. by Herrmannsen, 1847: 41) = Potamilus alatus

Lastena Rafinesque, 1820

(intro'd as sub-gen. of Anodonta Lamarck, 1799; renamed Stenelasma Herrmannsen, 1849)
Rafinesque, 1820. Ann. Gén. Sci. Phys. 5 (13): 316.
Rafinesque, 1864. [in] Binney & Tryon, reprint: 59.
Type species: Anodonta (Lastena) ohiensis Rafinesque, 1820 (sub. desig. by Herrmannsen, 1847: 577, 58) = Potamilus ohiensis

Symphynota Lea, 1829

Lea, 1829. Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. 3 [O. 1]: 424, 442 [38].
Type species: Unio alatus Say, 1817 (orig. desig.) = Potamilus alatus

Lasmonos Rafinesque, 1831

(renamed Monelasmus Agassiz, 1846)
Rafinesque, 1831. Continuation: 5.
Rafinesque, 1864. [in] Binney & Tryon, reprint: 81.
Type species: Lasmonos fragilis Rafinesque, 1831 (orig. desig.) = Potamilus fragilis

Naidea Swainson, 1840

(intro'd as sub-gen. of Aeglia Swainson, 1840)
Swainson, 1840. Treat. Malacol.: 276, 378.
Type species: Unio ater Lea, 1829 (monotypy) = Potamilus purpuratus

Monelasmus Agassiz, 1846

(new name for Lasmonos Rafinesque, 1831)
Agassiz, 1846. Nomencl. Zool. Index Univ.: 237.
Type species: Lasmonos fragilis Rafinesque, 1831 = Potamilus fragilis

Lostena Gray, 1847

(error for Lastena Rafinesque, 1820)
‘Rafinesque’ Gray, 1847. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 15: 196.
Type species: Anodonta (Lastena) ohiensis Rafinesque, 1820 = Potamilus ohiensis

Stenelasma Herrmannsen, 1849

(new name for Lastena Rafinesque, 1820)
Herrmannsen, 1849. Ind. Gener. Malacol. 2: 502.
Type species: Anodonta (Lastena) ohiensis Rafinesque, 1820 = Potamilus ohiensis

Symphionota Philippi, 1853

(error for Symphynota Lea, 1829)
Philippi, 1853. Handb. Conch. Mal.: 450, 492.
Type species: Unio alatus Say, 1817 = Potamilus alatus

Lastenes Chenu, 1859

(error for Lastena Rafinesque, 1820)
Desmarest in Chenu, 1859. Encycl. Hist. Nat., Crust. Moll. Zooph. 4: 212.
Type species: Anodonta (Lastena) ohiensis Rafinesque, 1820 = Potamilus ohiensis

Noidea Schaufuss, 1869

(error for Naidea Swainson, 1840)
Schaufuss, 1869. Moll. Syst. Cat. Paetel 7: ix, 21.
Type species: Unio ater Lea, 1829 = Potamilus purpuratus

Monelagmus Paetel, 1875

(error for Monelasmus Agassiz, 1846)
‘Agas.’ Paetel, 1875. Fam. Gatt. Moll.: 127.
Type species: Lasmonos fragilis Rafinesque, 1831 = Potamilus fragilis

Paraptera Ortmann, 1911

Ortmann, 1911. Mem. Carnegie Mus. 4: 301.
Ortmann, 1912. Ann. Carnegie Mus. 8: 330.
Type species: Unio gracilis Barnes, 1823 (orig. desig.) = Potamilus fragilis

Pareptera Frierson, 1914

(error for Paraptera Ortmann, 1911)
‘Ortmann’ Frierson, 1914. Nautilus 28: 7.
Type species: Unio gracilis Barnes, 1823 = Potamilus fragilis

Symphanota Preston, 1916

(error for Symphynota Lea, 1829)
Preston, 1916. Zool. Rec. 51: 66.
Type species: Unio alatus Say, 1817 = Potamilus alatus

Symphinodonta Korniushin, 1998

(error for Symphynota Lea, 1829)
Korniushin, 1998. Malac. Review Bivalvia 7: 78.
Type species: Unio alatus Say, 1817 = Potamilus alatus

Potamilis Contreras-Arquieta, 2000

(error for Potamilus Rafinesque, 1818)
‘Rafinesque’ Contreras-Arquieta, 2000. Mexicoa 2(1): 44.
Type species: Unio alatus Say, 1817 = Potamilus alatus

Taxonomic History (since 1900)

The Taxonomic History lists the ways authors have classified the species currently assigned to Potamilus, since 1900.

Lampsilis (Proptera)Simpson (1900), Ortmann (1909), Simpson (1914)
Lampsilis (s.s.)Simpson (1900), Simpson (1914), Frierson (1927)
Unio (s.s.)Call (1900)
PropteraOrtmann (1909), Ortmann (1909), Ortmann (1910), Ortmann (1912), Ortmann (1914), ... R.I. Johnson (1980), Mackie et al. (1980), Davis & Fuller (1981), Contreras-Arquieta (2000), ITIS (2012)
ParapteraOrtmann (1912), Ortmann (1918)
AnodontaSimpson (1914), Thiele (1934)
Uniode Gregorio (1914), Henderson (1935)
Unio (Symphynota)de Gregorio (1914)
LastenaUtterback (1915), Modell (1945)
LampsilisVanatta (1915)
LasmonosUtterback (1916), Utterback (1916)
LeptodeaOrtmann & Walker (1922), Ortmann (1924), Ortmann (1925), F.C. Baker (1928), Thiele (1934), ... Gasparini et al. (2020), Graf & Cummings (2021), Wu et al. (2021), Hauck et al. (2023), Chen et al. (2025)
Anodonta (Lastena)Frierson (1927), Haas (1969)
Lampsilis (Leptodea)Frierson (1927)
MedionidusHaas (1969), Burch (1975), R.I. Johnson (1977), Turgeon et al. (1988), Williams et al. (1993), Bogan (1993), Turgeon et al. (1998), Lydeard et al. (1999), IUCN (2000), Graf & Cummings (2007), Cummings & Graf (2010), ITIS (2012)
PotamilusMorrison (1969), Oesch (1984), Turgeon et al. (1988), Cummings & Mayer (1992), Williams et al. (1993), ... Chen et al. (2025), FMCS (2025), Cummings et al. (2025), Klymus et al. (2025), Campbell & Lydeard (2026)
Anodonta (Utterbackia)R.I. Johnson (1970)
Potamilis [sic]Contreras-Arquieta (2000)