Bionomina

Etymology of nomina of amphibians and reptiles of Mayotte (Indian Ocean)

THIERRY FRÉTEY — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +1300

We provide a catalogue of 21 generic nomina and 30 species or subspecies epithets of amphibians and reptiles of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, with some nomenclatural consequences that result from our observations, especially for "Flexiseps" (unavailable), Furcifer pollenii (misspelled) and Lycodryas maculata (incorrect grammatical agreement). In order to solve some nomenclatural problems, we had to resort to 11 Articles of the Code (8.5‒6, 11.8, 28, 30.1.1‒3, 30.1.4.2–3, 30.2.4, 33.4) and to 34 technical nomenclatural terms. Once again, this highlights the fact that nomenclatural problems concerning ancient nomina cannot be properly dealt with in a hurry and without a good, but also critical, knowledge of the Code, and that the use of a more detailed terminology than that of the Code facilitates such a work.

Etymology of nomina and bibliography of reptiles of the Scattered Islands (Indian Ocean). Addenda & Corrigenda

THIERRY FRÉTEY — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +1300

Following the publication of our article (Frétey 2025), a colleague pointed out a recent publication that we had missed. We also found an older publication which, contrary to what its title might suggest, also concerns the Scattered Islands.

Diagnosability without gatekeeping in taxonomy: on the ‘Kaiserian shortfall’

ANDREW A. DAVINACK — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +1300

Deprá (2025) raises an important and timely concern regarding the accumulation of formally available zoological names that lack workable diagnoses, a phenomenon he terms “the Kaiserian shortfall”. Few practicing taxonomists would dispute that poorly diagnosed taxa impose substantial costs on systematic research, contributing to instability, redundancy, and the repeated re-examination of material that should already be taxonomically resolved. On this central point, there is a broad agreement: taxa that cannot be reliably recognized undermine the scientific and practical goals of taxonomy (Winston 1999).