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Issue: Vol. 5696 No. 3: 25 Sept. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-09-25
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5696.3.4
Page range: 385-397
Abstract views: 217
PDF downloaded: 93

Nomenclatural historians are kindly requested to respect the intent of the Code: “Nomenclatural parsimony” and the case of the Nose-horned Viper, Vipera ammodytes (Linnaeus, 1758)

School of Environmental and Natural Sciences; Bangor University; Bangor LL57 2UW; UK.
Sektion Herpetologie; Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels; Museum Koenig; Adenauerallee 127; 53113 Bonn; Germany.
Society for Southeast Asian Herpetology; Calle Rio Segura 26; 30600 Archena; Spain.
Sektion Herpetologie; Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels; Museum Koenig; Adenauerallee 127; 53113 Bonn; Germany.; Department of Biology; Victor Valley College; 18422 Bear Valley Road; Victorville; California 92395; USA.
Reptilia taxonomy nomenclature herpetology Viperidae Linnaeus nomenclatural stability nomenclatural history nomenclatural parsimony

Abstract

Scientific biological nomenclature underpins all knowledge exchange on biodiversity and works best when the names of organisms are stable. However, science-driven changes to zoological nomenclature are essential to reflect advances in knowledge. In contrast, process-driven changes resulting from historical discoveries followed by strict application of the Code can destabilise nomenclature without representing any gain in taxonomic knowledge. We illustrate this problem using the example of the European Nose-horned Viper, Vipera ammodytes (Linnaeus, 1758): its Linnaean type was recently reassessed and found not to originate from the western Balkans, as long assumed, but from near Istanbul, European Türkiye. The transfer of the name V. ammodytes ammodytes from its long-standing prevailing usage to the eastern subspecies widely known as V. a. montandoni Boulenger, 1904 would greatly impede the interpretation of a large body of literature and complicate communication about an iconic, widely known venomous snake of public health importance. We emphasise the imperative of nomenclatural parsimony (i.e., the need to minimise changes) when deciding between different possible courses of action required by historical discoveries. We urge researchers into nomenclatural history to safeguard long-established, widely used names, including through petitions to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.

 

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How to Cite

Wüster, W., Böhme, W., Denzer, W. & Kaiser, H. (2025) Nomenclatural historians are kindly requested to respect the intent of the Code: “Nomenclatural parsimony” and the case of the Nose-horned Viper, Vipera ammodytes (Linnaeus, 1758). Zootaxa, 5696 (3), 385–397. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5696.3.4