Case 3850 – Micruridae Dunn, 1931 (Reptilia, Serpentes) and Lineidae McIntosh, 1874 (Nemertea, Pilidiophora): proposed conservation by suppression of Micruridae Ehrenberg, 1831 (Nemertea, Pilidiophora)

Abstract

The purposes of this application, under Articles 23.9.3 and 55.3.1 of the Code, are to conserve the current usage of (1) the family-group name Micruridae Dunn, 1931 (Reptilia, Serpentes) for a family (sometimes treated as a subfamily) of New World coral snakes that frequently appear in literature pertaining not only to certain fields of herpetology but also to emergency medical care in Latin America; and (2) the nemertean family-group name Lineidae McIntosh, 1874, by suppression of their senior homonym/ synonym Micruridae Ehrenberg, 1831 (Nemertea, Pilidiophora). The nemertean taxon Micrurinae was recognised as a subfamily of Lineidae until the early 20th century, but not since at least the 1970s. Afterwards, at the rank of family, Micruridae was used to refer to a differently constituted nemertean taxon in three ecological works published between 1998 and 2009.