THE TACHINID TAXA OF LOUIS P. MESNIL, WITH NOTES ON NOMENCLATURE (INSECTA: DIPTERA)

Abstract

AbstractLouis 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.