An illustrated catalogue of the type Spondylidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Pectinida) in the Natural History Museum, London

The monogeneric family Spondylidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Pectinida) contains 75 currently accepted extant species, all of which are assigned to the genus Spondylus Linnaeus, Citation1758. The type series of 23 of these, representing a third of the family’s global diversity, are held in the collections of the Natural History Museum, London (NHM), together with type material representing over 50 synonymized nominal taxa. Type series of 12 fossil taxa are also represented, spanning the Late Cretaceous to the Miocene. Extensive intra-specific variability and a paucity of molecular data mean that delineation between Recent Spondylus species is often extremely difficult. Identification remains heavily dependent on notoriously labile shell characters, and accurately identified type specimens are therefore critical to taxonomic stability within the group. Here, we provide comprehensive evaluations of the NHM type material, together with detailed new images of complete type series, to form a primary resource for morphological comparison. Spondylus reevei Fulton, Citation1915 is reinstated as a valid species; in addition, we designate 34 lectotypes and one neotype for the purpose of maintaining taxonomic stability. Errors identified in the published literature have also been corrected.