Stizostedion Rafinesque, 1820 (Percidae) is the Valid Generic Name for Walleye, Sauger, and Eurasian Pikeperch

Abstract

Theodore Nicholas Gill’s misconception of Lorenz Okenfuss’s use of the Latvian vernacular name Sander for Cuvier’s French vernacular name Les Sandres, as a properly coined Latin name, led to Gill’s and subsequent authors’ incorrect acceptance of Sander as the senior synonym for Stizostedion. However, some authors, aware Sander is a common name and never proposed as a valid generic name, have continued using the correct generic name Stizostedion. American Fisheries Society guidelines for publication in their journals and the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences requires authors to use the current edition of Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, which has incorrectly used Sander in the last two editions. Thus, fishery biologists have been forced to use an incorrect generic name for one of the most important freshwater fisheries of North America.