Nomenclatural review of Polyptychoceras and 18 related taxa (Ammonoidea: Diplomoceratidae)

This book inventories all available (and some unavailable) names in the family, genus, and species groups of extant members of orders Actiniaria and Corallimorpharia [cnidarian subclass Hexacorallia (Zoantharia) of class Anthozoa], providing a benchmark of names, their status, and taxon membership. I have attempted to make the compilation complete as of 2010; some names created after 2010 are included. The book is derived from a database I compiled that was available through a website. Most of the book is from the literature that defines taxa and documents their geographic distribution-primarily publications on nomenclature, taxonomy, and biogeography, but also some on ecology, pharmacology, reproductive biology, physiology, etc. of anemones (the common name for these groups); the reference section comprises 845 entries. As for previous anemone catalogs, this contains taxonomic as well as nomenclatural information, the former based on subjective opinion of working biologists, the latter objectively verifiable and unchanging (except by action of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature). Each family-group name, genus-group name, and original combination for species-group names has an entry. The entry contains the bibliographic reference to the publication in which each name was made available. This book contains for Corallimorpharia seven family names (four considered valid [57%]), 20 generic names (10 considered valid [50%] and one unavailable), and 65 species names (46 considered valid [70%]). It contains for Actiniaria 86 family names (50 considered valid [58%] and three unavailable), 447 generic names (264 considered valid [59%] and two unavailable), and 1427 species names (1101 considered valid [77%] and nine unavailable). Type specimens are inventoried from more than 50 natural history museums in Africa, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and North America, including those with the largest collections of anemones; the geographic sources of specimens that were the bases of new names are identified. I resolve some nomenclatural issues, acting as First Reviser. A few taxonomic opinions are published for the first time. I have been unable to resolve a small number of problematic names having both nomenclatural and taxonomic problems. Molecular phylogenetic analyses are changing assignment of genera to families and species to genera. Systematics may change, but the basics of nomenclature remain unchanged in face of such alterations. All actions are in accord with the principles of nomenclature enunciated in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. These include the type concept, the Principle of Coordination, and the Principle of Priority. Nomenclatural acts include the creation of new replacement names; seven actiniarian generic names and one species name that are junior homonyms but have been treated as valid are replaced and an eighth new genus name is created. I designate type species for two genera. Except for published misspellings, names are rendered correctly according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature; I have altered spelling of some species names to conform to orthographic regulations. I place several species that had been assigned to genera now considered junior synonyms in the genus to which the type species was moved; experts on these anemones should determine whether those generic placements, which follow the nomenclatural rules, are taxonomically appropriate. This inventory can be a useful starting point in assembling the literature and trying to understand the rationale for the creation and use of names for the taxonomic matters yet to be resolved. Some nomenclatural conundra will not be resolved until taxonomic uncertainties are. A taxonomist familiar with the animals needs to ascertain whether the published synonymies are justified. If so, the senior synonym should be used, which, in many instances, will involve determining the proper generic assignment of the species and the correct rendering of the name; if changing the name would be disruptive, retaining the junior name would require an appeal to the Commission (Code Article 23.11).

For the first time, all family-group names in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) are evaluated using the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature to determine their availability and validity. A total of 383 family-group names were found to be available, and all are reviewed to scrutinize the correct spelling, author, date, nomenclatural availability and validity, and current classification status. Numerous corrections are given to various errors that are commonly perpetuated in the literature. A reversal of precedence is used to preserve the prevailing usage of the following family-group names: Eupariini Schmidt, 1910 (over Ataeniini Harold, 1868); Pachydemini Burmeister, 1855 (over Elaphocerini Blanchard, 1851); Heterosternina Bates, 1888 (over Macropnina Horn, 1866); and Anomalina Streubel, 1839 (over Euchlorina Hope, 1839).

Charles Johnson Maynard (1845–1929) was a self-educated naturalist, teacher, and dealer in natural history specimens and materials who conducted extensive field work throughout Florida, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands. He published prolifically on the fauna, flora, and anthropology of these areas. His publications included descriptions of 248 of the 587 validly proposed species-level taxa within Cerionidae, a family of terrestrial gastropods endemic to the islands of the tropical western Atlantic. After his death, his collection of Cerionidae was purchased jointly by the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) and the United States National Museum, with the presumed primary types remaining at the MCZ and the remainder of the collection divided between these two museums and a few other institutions. In this work, we provide 1) a revised collation of Maynard's publications dealing with Cerionidae, 2) a chronological listing of species-level taxa proposed in these works, 3) a determination of the number and status of name-bearing type specimens for each taxon within the context of the most recent edition of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, and 4) when necessary, the selection of a lectotype (for 185 taxa) or the designation of a neotype (for eight taxa) from among specimens in these museums to restrict the name-bearing type for each taxon to a single specimen, which is illustrated. Type material could not be located for three of the 248 species-level taxa proposed by Maynard. In these instances, neo-types are proposed to make these three taxa objective junior synonyms of other taxa. Strict application of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature contradicts the authorship, publication date, and type status of name-bearing types for a significant number of Maynard's taxa that had been previously reported in the literature.

The names and dates of the publications of Brachyura of Guérin (Guérin-Méneville from 1836) are reviewed, and previously unidentified or overlooked names are identified. Several identical new names used in multiple publications by Guérin (also under the name Guérin-Méneville), and others that appeared in the same year necessitated the accurate determination of publication dates to establish priority. The authorships of three names should be credited to Guérin (1832): Gecarcinus lateralis (Gecarcinidae), Halimus aries (Majidae), and Libinia spinosa (Epialtidae), the first previously attributed to Fréminville (1835), the last two to H. Milne Edwards (1834). The overlooked genus- and species-group names Cyclocarcinus pinnotheroides Guérin-Méneville, 1838, are determined to be senior subjective synonyms of the genus- and species-group names Hapalonotus reticulatus (De Man, 1879) (Pilumnidae). Applying Article 23.9.1 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, precedence is reversed between the genus-group names and the correct name is Hapalonotus pinnotheroides (Guérin-Méneville, 1838). Current and widespread use of the genus-group name Thalamita Latreille, 1829 (31 March) (Portunidae) is threatened by the overlooked Thalamites Guérin, 1829 (21 March), and the precedence of the names is also reversed to maintain usage of the former. The genus-group name Eurypodius Guérin (Inachidae) is shown to have been established in 1828, not 1825. Included is a complete bibliography of the publications in which Guérin (also under Guérin-Méneville) established new names for Brachyura, with their accurate publication dates.

2,604 names at the rank of subtribe, tribe, subfamily, family and superfamily have been proposed for Recent and fossil gastropods, and another 35 for monoplacophorans. All names are listed in a nomenclator giving full bibliographical reference, date of publication, typification, and their nomenclatural availability and validity under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Another 790 names, established for categories above the familygroup (infraorder to subclass) are listed separately. A fully ranked, hierarchical classification summarizes recent advances in the phylogeny of the Gastropoda and Monoplacophora. In all, the classification recognizes as valid a total of 721 gastropod families, of which 245 are known exclusively as fossils and 476 occur in the Recent with or without a fossil record; and 20 monoplacophoran families, of which 1 only occurs as Recent.Nomenclatural acts in this work: Amberleya bathonica Cox & Arkell, 1950, fixed as type species of Amberleya J. Morris & Lycett, 1851, under Art. 70.3; Ampezzopleura tenuis Nutzel, 1998, fixed as type species of Ampezzopleura Bandel, 1991, under Art. 70.3; Proserpina nitida G. B. Sowerby II, 1839, designated type species of Despoena Newton, 1891; Buccinum glabratum Linnaeus, 1758, designated type species of Dipsaccus H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853; Murex ficus Linnaeus, 1758, designated type species of Ficula Swainson, 1835; Oncomelania hupensis Gredler, 1881, designated type species of Hemibia Heude, 1890; Murex metaxa Delle Chiaje, 1828, fixed as type species of Metaxia Monterosato, 1884 under Art. 70.3; Neridomus anglicus Cox & Arkell, 1950, fixed as type species of Neridomus J. Morris & Lycett, 1851, under Art. 70.3; Navicella clypeolum Recluz, 1843, designated type species of Orthopoma Gray, 1868; Trochus viadrinus M. Schmidt, 1905, fixed as type species of Parataphrus Chavan, 1954 under Art. 70.3; Helix pomatia Linnaeus, 1758, designated type species of Pentataenia A. Schmidt, 1855; Flammulina ponsonbyi Suter, 1897, fixed as type species of Phenacohelix Suter, 1892, under Art. 70.3; Cyrtolites corniculum Eichwald, 1860, fixed as type species of Pollicina Koken, 1895, under Art. 70.3; Purpurina elegantula d'Orbigny, 1850, designated as type species of Purpurina d'Orbigny, 1850, and lectotype of Turbo bellona d'Orbigny, 1850, designated as neotype of Purpurina elegantula; Pyramidella minuscula Monterosato, 1880, fixed as type species of Tiberia Jeffreys, 1884, under Art. 70.3; Cyclostoma delicatum Philippi, 1844, fixed as type species of Trachysma G. O. Sars, 1878, under Art. 70.3; Helix elegans Gmelin, 1791, fixed as type species of Trochoidea T. Brown, 1827, under Art. 70.3; Turritellopsis stimpsoni Dall, 1919, fixed as type species of Turritellopsis G. O. Sars, 1878, under Art. 70.3; Fusus averillii Gabb, 1864, fixed as type species of Volutoderma Gabb, 1876, under Art. 70.3; Voluta pepo Lightfoot, 1786, fixed as type species of Yetus Bowdich, 1822. Curnonidae d'Udekem d'Acoz, nom. nov., and Curnon d'Udekem d'Acoz, nom. nov., are established for Charcotiidae Odhner, 1926, and Charcotia Vayssiere, 1906, (between 27 March and 1 May), non Charcotia Chevreux, 1906 (January) [Amphipoda]; Yuopisthonematidae Nutzel, nom. nov., and Yuopisthonema Nutzel, nom. nov., are established for Opisthonematidae Yu, 1976, and Opisthonema Yu, 1974, non Gill, 1862 [Pisces]. The new family-group name Burnupiidae Albrecht is established in this work; and the names Scolodontina and Orthalicoidei are first used here to denote, respectively, a suborder containing the family Scolodontidae, and an infraorder containing the superfamily Orthalicoidea.

Some 1,048 names at the rank of subtribe, tribe, subfamily, family and superfamily have been proposed for Recent and fossil bivalves. All names are listed in a nomenclator giving full bibliographical reference, date of publication, type genus, and their nomenclatural availability and validity under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Another 274 names, established for categories above the family-group are listed separately. A working classification attempts to group all bivalve family-group names into a single system based on current hypotheses of relations and synonymies. At several rank levels, the groups are given in alphabetical rather than some assumed phylogenetic arrangement, reflecting current uncertainties and conflicting results from anatomical, molecular, and fossil data. Altogether, the classification recognizes as valid a total of 324 families, of which 214 are known exclusively as fossils and 110 occur in the Recent with or without a fossil record.

Louis Paul Mesnil (1904–1986) wrote more than 90 published articles on the Tachinidae between 1936 and 1980. He proposed, in those works, a total of 172 new genus-group names and 838 new species-group names. These genus-group and species-group names are listed here along with annotations and a complete record of Mesnil’s publications on the Tachinidae. Certain nomenclatural problems concerning the taxa of Mesnil are addressed, namely difficulties arising from the fascicle format of the series “Die Fliegen der palaearktischen Region”, determination of the type status of primary types (syntypes vs. holotypes), improperly labeled types in collections, taxa described in cryptic fashion, type depositories not slated or since changed, and manuscript names in collections. The rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature are followed to standardize usage of Mesnil’s names.

The nomenclatural status of Phytosaurus Jæger is here analyzed in accordance with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. In the past, several authors have interpreted it as both a family-group and/or a genus-group name, but each of these approaches fails in several articles of the Code. Phytosaurus Jæger is here interpreted as originally established for a collective-group and cannot be used as a nominal genus in binomina, but takes precedence over any other younger homonym, and the first available one is Phytosaurus Wagler. Being an invalid junior homonym, the class-group name Phytosauria Baur and the family-group name Phytosauridae Lydekker, which are based on Phytosaurus Wagler, are ultimately rejected. Conversely, the class-group names Parasuchia Huxley and Belodontia Brauns, as well as the family-group name Belodontidae Cope, are older but have some taxonomic restrictions in relation to Belodon plieningeri Meyer. To avoid proposing new names for old ones, the solution to fix the higher-order nomenclature for phytosaurs is to designate a neotype for Belodon plieningeri Meyer. Keywords: Parasuchia, Phytosauria, Belodontia, Archosauriformes, Triassic, collective-group.

The island of Madagascar is a renowned hotspot for adaptive radiations. Madagascar has been separated from mainland Africa since the end of the Jurassic, and from India since the Late Cretaceous. This long isolation, combined with the island’s large size and relatively few dispersal events has resulted in an avifauna characterized by a low species count and high endemism: for instance, 80% of the breeding Malagasy songbirds (Passeriformes) are endemic (Hawkins & Goodman 2003). A first series of papers (Cibois et al. 1999, 2001; Fjeldsa et al. 1999) on the phylogeny of the Malagasy taxa traditionally classified as Timaliidae, Sylviidae and Pycnonotidae (all families included in the large sylvioid clade) showed that several of these passerines form an original radiation endemic to the island. Because these results were based solely on a single kind of molecular marker (mitochondrial DNA sequences), the authors refrained at that time from giving a name to this clade. More recently, other studies using nuclear markers as well (Beresford et al. 2005; Johansson et al. 2008a, 2008b) confirm the existence of this Malagasy sylvioid radiation. The species that comprise this group exhibit a great variety of bill shapes, wing and tail proportions, and tarsus lengths. This diversity in morphology is linked to varieties of habitat and prey favoured by these insectivorous forest dwellers (Schulenberg 2003). Thus the endemic Malagasy sylvioid clade rivals other island radiations, including the vangas of Madagascar and the finches of the Galapagos, in ecological and morphological diversity. Several authors were inclined to consider this group at the family level, using the name ‘Bernieridae’. To our knowledge the first study using this name was the book “The natural history of Madagascar”, edited by S. M. Goodman and J. Benstead in 2003, where the name ‘Bernieridae’ appeared in two chapters (in Tingle et al. (2003: p. 522) and Hawkins & Goodman (2003: p. 1036), although Schulenberg (2003: p. 1131) referred to the Malagasy "warblers" in his chapter on the radiations of passerine birds on Madagascar). An alternative spelling for the family-group name, ‘Bernieriidae’, can be found in several personal pages on the internet, but we have not found an occurrence of this in any publication, as defined in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (4th edition, 1999). The name ‘Bernieridae’ was later used in several journal articles (Chouteau & Fenosoa 2008; Fuchs et al. 2008; Johansson et al. 2008a, 2008b), however, none of these have introduced the family-group name ‘Bernieridae’ according to the provisions of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, i.e. the nominal taxon was not explicitly indicated as intentionally new (Article 16.1) and the type genus was not cited (Article 16.2). In the present paper, we therefore propose to rectify this situation by correctly introducing the family-group name for the Malagasy sylvioid radiation.

Family-group names proposed for beetles belonging to the family Cerambycidae are catalogued and their availability is determined using the rules of the current International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. A synoptic classification of the family summarizes the validity of the names. Type genera of all family-group names are listed and the type species and stems of genera of available family-group names are included. A new family-group name, Elytracanthinini Bousquet (type genus: Elytracanthina Monn, 2005, a replacement name for Elytracantha Lane, 1955) is proposed for Elytracanthinae Lane, 1955. Ichthyosoma armatum Montrouzier, 1855 is designated as type species of Icthyosoma Boisduval, 1835. Reversal of precedence is used to preserve the validity of the following family-group names: Anaglyptides Lacordaire, 1868 (over Anaglyptisidae Gistel, 1848 [Buprestidae]); Dryobiini Arnett, 1962 (over Dryobiadae Gistel, 1856 [Ptinidae]); Hemilophitae Thomson, 1868 (over Amphionychitae Thomson, 1860) and Hétéropsides Lacordaire, 1869 (over Dichophyiaeidae Gistel, 1848). The following family-group names, although junior synonyms, are preserved as valid until an application is submitted to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature; in these cases a reversal of precedence could not be applied: Eurypodini Gahan, 1906 (over Zaracinae Pascoe, 1869); Macronides Lacordaire, 1868 (over Enchapteritae Thomson, 1861); Pyresthides Lacordaire, 1868 (over Pseudolepturitae Thomson, 1861 and Erythrinae Pascoe, 1866) and Stenoderinae Pascoe, 1867 (over Syllitae Thomson, 1864). A total of 238 valid cerambycid family-group names (413 available names) are recognized in the following 13 subfamilies: Vesperinae (1 valid family-group name), Oxypeltinae (1), Disteniinae (4), Anoplodermatinae (3), Philinae (1), Parandrinae (2), Prioninae (24), Spondylidinae (5), Necydalinae (1), Lepturinae (8), Lamiinae (80), Dorcasominae (1), and Cerambycinae (107).

We are now over four decades into digitally managing the names of Earth's species. As the number of federating (i.e., software that brings together previously disparate projects under a common infrastructure, for example TaxonWorks) and aggregating (e.g., International Plant Name Index, Catalog of Life (CoL)) efforts increase, there remains an unmet need for both the migration forward of old data, and for the production of new, precise and comprehensive nomenclatural catalogs. Given this context, we provide an overview of how TaxonWorks seeks to contribute to this effort, and where it might evolve in the future. In TaxonWorks, when we talk about governed names and relationships, we mean it in the sense of existing international codes of nomenclature (e.g., the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN)). More technically, nomenclature is defined as a set of objective assertions that describe the relationships between the names given to biological taxa and the rules that determine how those names are governed. It is critical to note that this is not the same thing as the relationship between a name and a biological entity, but rather nomenclature in TaxonWorks represents the details of the (governed) relationships between names. Rather than thinking of nomenclature as changing (a verb commonly used to express frustration with biological nomenclature), it is useful to think of nomenclature as a set of data points, which grows over time. For example, when synonymy happens, we do not erase the past, but rather record a new context for the name(s) in question. The biological concept changes, but the nomenclature (names) simply keeps adding up. Behind the scenes, nomenclature in TaxonWorks is represented by a set of nodes and edges, i.e., a mathematical graph, or network (e.g., Fig. 1). Most names (i.e., nodes in the network) are what TaxonWorks calls "protonyms," monomial epithets that are used to construct, for example, bionomial names (not to be confused with "protonym" sensu the ICZN). Protonyms are linked to other protonyms via relationships defined in NOMEN, an ontology that encodes governed rules of nomenclature. Within the system, all data, nodes and edges, can be cited, i.e., linked to a source and therefore anchored in time and tied to authorship, and annotated with a variety of annotation types (e.g., notes, confidence levels, tags). The actual building of the graphs is greatly simplified by multiple user-interfaces that allow scientists to review (e.g. Fig. 2), create, filter, and add to (again, not "change") the nomenclatural history. As in any complex knowledge-representation model, there are outlying scenarios, or edge cases that emerge, making certain human tasks more complex than others. TaxonWorks is no exception, it has limitations in terms of what and how some things can be represented. While many complex representations are hidden by simplified user-interfaces, some, for example, the handling of the ICZN's Family-group name, batch-loading of invalid relationships, and comparative syncing against external resources need more work to simplify the processes presently required to meet catalogers' needs. The depth at which TaxonWorks can capture nomenclature is only really valuable if it can be used by others. This is facilitated by the application programming interface (API) serving its data (https://api.taxonworks.org), serving text files, and by exports to standards like the emerging Catalog of Life Data Package. With reference to real-world problems, we illustrate different ways in which the API can be used, for example, as integrated into spreadsheets, through the use of command line scripts, and serve in the generation of public-facing websites. Behind all this effort are an increasing number of people recording help videos, developing documentation, and troubleshooting software and technical issues. Major contributions have come from developers at many skill levels, from high school to senior software engineers, illustrating that TaxonWorks leads in enabling both technical and domain-based contributions. The health and growth of this community is a key factor in TaxonWork's potential long-term impact in the effort to unify the names of Earth's species.

Corrigendum to “Assessing phylogenetic dependence of morphological traits using co-inertia prior to investigate character evolution in Loricariinae catfishes” Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 46 (2008) 986–1002

The family-group names of animals (superfamily, family, subfamily, supertribe, tribe and subtribe) are regulated by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Particularly, the family names are very important, because they are among the most widely used of all technical animal names. A uniform name and spelling are essential for the location of information. To facilitate this, a list of family-group names for fossil fishes has been compiled. I use the concept ‘Fishes’ in the usual sense, i.e., starting with the Agnatha up to the †Osteolepidiformes. All the family-group names proposed for fossil fishes found to date are listed, together with their author(s) and year of publication. The main goal of the list is to contribute to the usage of the correct family-group names for fossil fishes with a uniform spelling and to list the author(s) and date of those names. No valid family-group name description could be located for the following family-group names currently in usage: †Brindabellaspidae, †Diabolepididae, †Dorsetichthyidae, †Erichalcidae, †Holodipteridae, †Kentuckiidae, †Lepidaspididae, †Loganelliidae and †Pituriaspididae.

The most important provisions of the 1964 International Code of Zoological Nomenclature are summarized in 36 titled sections arranged in 8 groups: (1) basic theoretical and operational guidelines (6 sections); (2) general rules and definitions (11 sections); (3) author and citation of author names (4 sections); (4) Family-group names (3 sections); (5) Genus-group names (3 sections); (6) Species-group names (7 sections); (7) the first reviser (1 section); and (8) general recommendations (1 section of 25 parts).

The family-group names of animals (superfamily, family, subfamily, supertribe, tribe and subtribe) are regulated by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Family names are particularly important because they are among the most widely used of all technical animal names. Apart from using the correct family-group name according to the Code, it is also important to use one unique universal name (with a fixed spelling) to avoid confusion. We have compiled a list of family-group names for Recent fishes, applied the rules of the Code and, if possible, tried to conserve the names in prevailing recent practice. We list all of the family-group names found to date for Recent fishes (N=2625), together with their author(s) and year of publication. This list can be used in assigning the correct family-group name to a genus or a group of genera. With this publication we contribute to the usage of correct, universal family-group names in the classification of, and for communication about, Recent fishes.