Bivalvia | Unionida | Unionoidea | Unionidae | Ambleminae | Lampsilini | Potamilus

species Potamilus purpuratus (Lamarck, 1819): synonymy

9 specimens + 60 GenBank vouchers

Synonymy

Unio purpurata Lamarck, 1819

Lister, 1685. Conch.: pl. 155, fig. 10 [?]. [pre-linnaean]
Lamarck, 1819. Hist. Natur. Anim. sans Vert. 6: 71, sp. 6.
Type(s): LECTOTYPE [AS HOLOTYPE] MHNG_UNKNOWN (by R.I. Johnson, 1953: 92), Habite... Je la crois des grandes rivières de l’ Afrique.

Lampsilis (Proptera) purpuratusSimpson (1900)
Proptera purpurataOrtmann (1912), Utterback (1916), Ortmann (1925), Frierson (1927), Murray & Leonard (1962), Haas (1969), Burch (1975), Gordon et al. (1979), R.I. Johnson (1980), Davis & Fuller (1981)
Lampsilis (Proptera) purpurataSimpson (1914)
Potamilus purpuratusOesch (1984), Turgeon et al. (1988), Cummings & Mayer (1992), Williams et al. (1993), Howells et al. (1996), ... FMCS (2021), Hopper et al. (2023), Hauck et al. (2023), FMCS (2025), Cummings et al. (2025)
Potamilus purpurataVidrine (1993), R.I. Johnson (1998)

image of type lot

Unio ater Lea, 1829

specimen image from publicationLea, 1829. Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. 3 [O. 1]: 426, pl. 7, fig. 9.
(renamed Unio lugubris Say, 1832; homonym of Unio ater Nilsson, 1822)
Type(s): SYNTYPE USNM_86108, Port Gibson, Miss.

Lampsilis (Proptera) purpuratusSimpson (1900)
Lampsilis (Proptera) purpurataSimpson (1914)
Unio aterde Gregorio (1914)
Proptera purpurataFrierson (1927), Haas (1969)
Potamilus purpuratusParmalee & Bogan (1998), Williams et al. (2008)

Unio lugubris Say, 1832

Say, 1832. Amer. Conch. 5: pl. 43.
(new name for Unio ater Lea, 1829)

Lampsilis (Proptera) purpuratusSimpson (1900)
Lampsilis (Proptera) purpurataSimpson (1914)
Proptera purpurataFrierson (1927), Haas (1969)
Potamilus purpuratusWilliams et al. (2008)

Unio poulsoni Conrad, 1834

Conrad, 1834. New Fresh-Water Shells: 25, pl. 1.

Lampsilis (Proptera) alatus var. poulsoniSimpson (1900)
Lampsilis (Proptera) alata var. poulsoniSimpson (1914)
Proptera purpurata-poulsoniFrierson (1927)
Proptera purpurataHaas (1969)
Potamilus alatusParmalee & Bogan (1998)
Potamilus purpuratusParmalee & Bogan (1998), Williams et al. (2008)

image of type lot

Unio coloradoensis Lea, 1856

Lea, 1856. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. 8: 103.
specimen image from publicationLea, 1857. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. 3 [O. 6]: 314 [34], pl. 31, fig. 29.
Type(s): LECTOTYPE [AS HOLOTYPE] USNM_84845 (by R.I. Johnson, 1974: 32), Colorado R., Texas.

Lampsilis (Proptera) coloradoensisSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Proptera purpurataFrierson (1927), Haas (1969)
Potamilus purpuratusHowells et al. (1996), Parmalee & Bogan (1998), Williams et al. (2008), Cummings et al. (2025)
Potamilus purpuratus coloradoensisRoe & Lydeard (1998)
Potamilus purpurataR.I. Johnson (1998)

image of type lot

Unio permiscens Lea, 1859

Lea, 1859. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. 11: 112.
Lea, 1862. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. 5 [O. 8]: 102 [106], pl. 17, fig. 251.
Type(s): HOLOTYPE USNM_86118, Columbus, Miss.

Lampsilis (Proptera) permiscensSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Proptera purpurataFrierson (1927), Haas (1969)
Potamilus purpuratusParmalee & Bogan (1998)
Leptodea fragilisWilliams et al. (2008)

image of type lot

Unio dolosus Lea, 1860

Lea, 1860. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. 12: 307.
Lea, 1862. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. 5 [O. 8]: 75 [79], pl. 9, fig. 224.
Type(s): HOLOTYPE USNM_86119, Claiborne, Ala.

Lampsilis (Proptera) purpuratusSimpson (1900)
Lampsilis (Proptera) purpurataSimpson (1914)
Lasmonos fragilisUtterback (1916)
Proptera purpurata-poulsoniFrierson (1927)
Proptera purpurataHaas (1969)
Leptodea fragilisOesch (1984), Howells et al. (1996)
Potamilus purpuratusParmalee & Bogan (1998), Williams et al. (2008)

Unio dolosus Sowerby, 1866

specimen image from publication‘Lea’ Sowerby, 1866. Conch. Icon. 16: pl. 41, sp. 228.
(reference to Unio dolosus Lea, 1860)

Lampsilis (Proptera) purpuratusSimpson (1900)
Proptera purpurataFrierson (1927)

Unio poulsoni Sowerby, 1866

specimen image from publication‘Conrad’ Sowerby, 1866. Conch. Icon. 16: pl. 51, sp. 270.
(reference to Unio poulsoni Conrad, 1834)

Lampsilis (Proptera) purpuratusSimpson (1900)
Lampsilis (Proptera) purpurataSimpson (1914)

Mya ventricosa Humphrey, 1797

‘Solander’ Humphrey, 1797. Mus. Col.: 56.
‘Solander’ Ferussac, 1835. Mag. Zool. 5(59-60): 26 [as ‘U.ventricosa’].
(intro'd as syn of Unio purpurata Lamarck, 1819)

Unio atra Deshayes, 1832

‘Lea’ Deshayes, 1832. Enc. Méth. 2 (Deuxième partie): 582.
(reference to Unio ater Lea, 1829)

Lampsilis (Proptera) purpuratusSimpson (1900)
Lampsilis (Proptera) purpurataSimpson (1914)
Potamilus purpuratusParmalee & Bogan (1998), Williams et al. (2008)

Taxonomic History (since 1900)

Lampsilis (Proptera) purpuratusSimpson (1900)
Lampsilis (Proptera) alatus var. poulsoniSimpson (1900)
Lampsilis (Proptera) coloradoensisSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Lampsilis (Proptera) permiscensSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Proptera purpurataOrtmann (1912), Utterback (1916), Ortmann (1925), Frierson (1927), Murray & Leonard (1962), Haas (1969), Burch (1975), Gordon et al. (1979), R.I. Johnson (1980), Davis & Fuller (1981)
Lampsilis (Proptera) purpurataSimpson (1914)
Unio aterde Gregorio (1914)
Lampsilis (Proptera) alata var. poulsoniSimpson (1914)
Lasmonos fragilisUtterback (1916)
Proptera purpurata-poulsoniFrierson (1927)
Potamilus purpuratusOesch (1984), Turgeon et al. (1988), Cummings & Mayer (1992), Williams et al. (1993), Howells et al. (1996), ... FMCS (2021), Hopper et al. (2023), Hauck et al. (2023), FMCS (2025), Cummings et al. (2025)
Leptodea fragilisOesch (1984), Howells et al. (1996), Williams et al. (2008)
Potamilus purpurataVidrine (1993), R.I. Johnson (1998)
Potamilus alatusParmalee & Bogan (1998)
Potamilus purpuratus coloradoensisRoe & Lydeard (1998)