Neurotrichus skoczeni, new name for Neurotrichus minor Skoczen, 1993, preoccupied

Abstract

Skoczen (1993) described the fossil shrew-mole Neurotrichus minor on the basis of an Ml and a humerus from the Pliocene (MN 15/16) Polish locality of Weze 2. Popov (2004) has since transferred this species to Quyania, but Rzebik-Kowalska (2005) retained it in Neurotrichus. However, Dalquest and Burgner (1941) had already described the extant subspecies Neurotrichus gihhsii minor from western Washington; this form is still consid ered a valid subspecies found in coastal Washington and nearby British Columbia (Carraway and Verts, 1991; Hutterer, 2005). Regardless of the generic placement of N. minor Skoczen, the name is a primary homonym and permanently invalid (ICZN 1999:art. 57.2). Therefore, I propose the replacement name Neu rotrichus skoczeni, new name, for Neurotrichus minor Skoczen, 1993, preoccupied by Neurotrichus gibbsii minor Dalquest and Burgner, 1941. The specific name honors Stanislaw Skoczen, the original describer of the species, who passed away in 2007. The diagnosis, type locality, and holotype are as given by Skoczen (1993). I discovered the homonymy during work on the Neogene Old World (NOW) paleontological database.