Hi Visitor

Torben Larsen asked me to send this out to members.

The name Bicyclus safitza (Westwood, 1850) should continue to be used

Torben B. Larsen & R.I. Vane-Wright

Lamas (2010) (http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/455/45518149010.pdf) synonymized Mycalesis safitza Westwood, 1850, with the older name Satyrus denina Godart, 1824, thus making the well-known Bicyclus safitza a junior synonym to be replaced by Bicyclus denina.

To our knowledge the name denina has never been used to designate a valid species since it was first proposed. The name has hardly been mentioned, even in synonymic lists. We are almost certain that the name denina has not been used since 1899 as the name for any valid species until Lamas (2010). Accordingly this appears to be a prima facie case where the International Code Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 1999: Article 23.9.1) actually demands reversal of priority. If someone discovers a senior synonym that has not been used since 1899 while the junior name has been used in at least 25 works by at least 10 authors over the last 50 years within a span of at least 10 years (certainly the case for safitza), then that person is required to validate the junior synonym (in this case safitza) in the interests of nomenclatorial stability (Article 23.9.2).

If the name has indeed not been used we shall write a paper pointing this out and providing the necessary background. No further action would be necessary; such a nomen oblitum can and should be ignored according to ICZN Article 23.9.6. No usage was found by the research team working on “Carcasson’s African Butterflies” (Ackery et al. 1995), nor have we found any. Dr. Lamas kindly informed us that he only found one reference to denina post-1899, but that was in an unannotated list of all taxa that had been named in the genus Satyrus, which does not count as usage (ICZN Article 23.9.6). If any readers know of usage of denina Godart since 1899, we would be most grateful to receive the relevant information.

We shall continue our search. It is certain that if denina has been used, this will at most have been in some very obscure publications and we shall then prepare a formal application for its suppression by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, in favour of safitza. We doubt this will be necessary.

Either way, prevailing usage should continue. Good old Bicyclus safitza has 160 years of vibrant life behind it – and it’s not dead yet!

References

ACKERY, P.R., SMITH, C.R., & VANE WRIGHT, R.I. 1995. Carcasson's African Butterflies. CSIRO Australia.

ICZN, 1999. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (4^th edn). ITZN London.

LAMAS, G. 2010. Nomenclatural notes on Satyrinae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). SHILAP Revista di Lepidopterologia, 38 (150):197-204.

Corresponding author: Torben B. Larsen, Jacobys all 2, DK 1806 Frederiksberg, Denmark.

e-mail: torbenlarsen@btinternet.com