On the nomenclature of fossil Aspleniopteris, Carpinicarpus, Comptonia, Comptoniphyllum and Dryandrophyllum (Myricaceae)

Abstract Comptonia comptoniifolia (Brongn.) Doweld, comb. nov., based on the recently rediscovered Phyllites comptoniifolius Brongn., is reinstated based upon priority as the earliest validly published species name in place of the previously incorrectly used C. acutiloba Brongn. and C. difformis (Sternb.) E.W. Berry (Aspleniopteris difformis Sternb.; Asplenium difforme Sternb. non R. Br.). Comptonia japonica Krysht. is shown to be the earliest validly published name instead of the previously widely accepted Comptoniphyllum naumannii Nath. A new genus, Paracomptonia gen. nov., is proposed instead of the previously invalidly published Dryandrophyllum Velen., being based on the formerly segregated Comptonia subg. Avushia Zhilin, with transference of two Cretaceous Dryandra species, D. cretacea, and D. yakovlevii, and one Palaeogene species, D. schrankii, into Paracomptonia. The aberrant fossil species of Western Siberian Comptonia, based on fruit endocarps with a superficial resemblance to the extant genus, are reclassified and transferred into the recircumscribed and amplified distinct fossil genus Carpinicarpus, which is reinstated as a validly published genus instead of the anomalous Comptonia section †Comptoniella P.I. Dorof.: Carpinicarpus debilis (V.P. Nikit.) Doweld, comb. nov., C. dorofeevii (V.P. Nikit.) Doweld, comb. nov., C. gorbunovii (P.I. Dorof.) Doweld, comb. nov., and C. tymensis (P.I. Dorof.) Doweld, comb. nov. Comptonia japonica is neotypified; Paracomptonia cretacea (Velen.) Doweld comb. nov., P. yakovlevii (Palib.) Doweld, comb. nov. and P. schrankii (Sternb.) Doweld, comb. nov. are lectotypified for the first time.