Abstract
We assess the availability of four names proposed by Wells Wellington (1985) for Australian death adders (Acanthophis). In agreement with previous literature, A. hawkei is an available name, whereas A. armstrongi, A. lancasteri, and A. schistos are not described in conformity with the requirements of Articles 13.1.1 or 13.1.2 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and are therefore considered nomina nuda. Consequently, A. cryptamydros Maddock et al., 2015, is confirmed as the valid name for the Kimberley death adder of Western Australia. We comment on the need for greater clarity in the Code, and emphasise that the responsibility for establishing the availability of new nomina rests with their authors, not subsequent researchers.
Highlights
Death adders are a group of uniquely specialised Australasian elapid snakes best known for their morphological and ecological similarity to vipers (Shine 1980; Greene 1997; Shine et al 2014)
In agreement with previous literature, A. hawkei is an available name, whereas A. armstrongi, A. lancasteri, and A. schistos are not described in conformity with the requirements of Articles 13.1.1 or 13.1.2 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and are considered nomina nuda
None of the four descriptions provided any morphological or other descriptive information associated with the designated holotype specimens, and largely referred to the published works of other authors for diagnoses and descriptions, including specimen images. While these descriptions were initially ignored in the subsequent literature, the confirmation of considerable cryptic diversity in death adders (Aplin & Donnellan 1999; Wüster et al 2005; Maddock et al 2015) brought these names back into contention as potentially available nomina. This has resulted in taxonomic confusion and nomenclatural instability, in the case of northern Australian Acanthophis, which had long been considered part of A. praelongus Ramsay, 1877 (e.g., Storr 1981; Cogger 1983, 2000; Ehmann 1992; Storr et al 2002; Wilson & Swan 2003, 2013)
Summary
Death adders (genus Acanthophis Daudin, 1803) are a group of uniquely specialised Australasian elapid snakes best known for their morphological and ecological similarity to vipers (Shine 1980; Greene 1997; Shine et al 2014). Among these, Wells & Wellington (1985) proposed four new names for putative species of Acanthophis: A. armstrongi, A. hawkei, A. lancasteri, and A. schistos.
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