Case 3527 Anguis jamaicensis Shaw, 1802 (currently Typhlops jamaicensis; Reptilia, Serpentes): proposed conservation of the specific name by ruling that it is not to be treated as a replacement name for A. lumbricalis Linnaeus, 1758 (currently T. lumbricalis) and the designation of neotypes for both taxa

Abstract

The purpose of this application, under Article 78.1 of the Code, is to conserve the usage of the specific names Anguis lumbricalis Linnaeus, 1758 and Anguis jamaicensis Shaw, 1802 for two species of blind snake from the Caribbean. As published both taxa were composite and the name A. jamaicensis was a replacement for A. lumbricalis. The name Typhlops lumbricalis has consistently been used for a species from Cuba, Isla de Juventud and Bahamas, and T. jamaicensis is used for a species from Jamaica. A neotype is designated for T. lumbricalis and it is proposed that a neotype be designated for T. jamaicensis in accord with accustomed usage. Typhlops lumbricalis is the type species of Typhlops Oppel, 1811, a genus with a distribution in Europe, Africa, Asia, Central and South America and some 140 species.