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Do not merge - Hi Nessie, as mentioned in the article text, Callyspongia elegans Thiele, 1899 is not the same species as Callyspongia (Callyspongia) elegans (Lendenfeld, 1887). As noted on the WoRMS database, it is instead a junior homonym. Eventually it will be renamed in an upcoming publication (now in review). 'Cheers, Loopy30 (talk) 20:15, 3 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I'm sorry for assuming you or another Wikipedian goofed, when I should really assume it was the taxonomers. How has this gone on for 120 years? --Nessie (talk) 15:10, 4 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Both species were originally named in other genera before being moved to Callyspongia. I do not know the date of these genus transfers but can imagine that in a pre-digitized world that such a mistake was relatively easier to make. The online taxonomic databases available today have greatly facilitated both the prevention of additional errors and the identification of existing cases of homonymy among taxa. During my edits to complete the conversion of all Porifera taxoboxes, I encountered several such cases and even found a few additional ones that had not yet been identified by the world's leading professional taxonomists. I notified the editors of the WoRMS database earlier this year and they will now rename these junior homonyms in an upcoming publication. At that point, we can then adjust the associated Wikipedia articles. Loopy30 (talk) 20:58, 4 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, the article was published in March and as a result, the junior synonym (Callyspongia elegans) has now been renamed to Callyspongia (Cladochalina) johannesthielei. I have now moved the corresponding Wikipedia article and taken down the proposed merge notices. 'Cheers, Loopy30 (talk) 00:08, 1 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]