Do not call me by your name: The commercially traded “cottonii” seaweed is not Eucheuma cottonii – an obsolete nomenclature now reclassified under a new genus

The continued use of the red seaweed name Eucheuma cottonii in applied research reflects a persistent gap between taxonomic revisions and their adoption in the scientific literature. Although widely reported in food and industrial studies, E. cottonii is an obsolete name now reclassified as Kappaphycopsis cottonii , a species not currently known to be cultivated commercially. Most studies are therefore referring to commonly cultivated carrageenophytes Kappaphycus alvarezii or K . striatus , which may result in misidentification of the biological material. This issue is evident across diverse applications, including food fermentation, bioethanol production, animal nutrition, and biomaterials development, and is particularly apparent in publications originating from Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia. This suggests that taxonomic inaccuracies may not be consistently recognized during peer review and editorial processes. Given that carrageenan composition and biochemical properties are species-specific, incorrect naming can affect reproducibility, product performance, and process optimization, and may also have implications for regulatory compliance, including food labeling and clean-label claims. This letter outlines the implications of taxonomic inaccuracies and draws attention to the importance of accurate species identification, and the use of taxonomic verification in applied research.