How not to describe a species: lessons from a tangle of anacondas (Boidae: <i>Eunectes</i> Wagler, 1830)
Abstract A recent revision of the anacondas (Serpentes: Boidae: Eunectes), with the description of a new species of green anaconda, generated extensive publicity, but also provoked considerable controversy due to inadequacies of the evidence used and errors in nomenclature. We here use the case of this problematic publication to: (i) highlight common issues affecting species delimitations, especially an over-reliance on mitochondrial DNA data, and reiterate best practices; (ii) reanalyse the data available for anacondas to establish the true current state of knowledge and to highlight lines of further research; and (iii) analyse the nomenclatural history and status of the genus. While our analysis reveals significant morphological variation in both green and yellow anacondas, denser sampling and an analysis of informative nuclear markers are required for meaningful species delimitation in Eunectes. Tracing the history of name-bearing types establishes Trinidad as the type locality for Boa murina Linnaeus, 1758 and allows identification of the extant lectotype for the species. Finally, we emphasize the responsibility of both journals and authors to ensure that published taxonomic work meets the burden of evidence required to substantiate new species descriptions and that species are named in compliance with the rules of zoological nomenclature.
Authors
- Scott Thomson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1279-2722)
- Thore Koppetsch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8565-4350)
- Wolfgang Wüster (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4890-4311)
- Axel Hille
- Jörn Köhler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5250-2542)
- Miguel Vences (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0747-0817)
- Luis M. P. Ceríaco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0591-9978)
- Wolfgang Böhme (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8387-1287)
- Lutz Dirksen
- Frank Glaw (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4072-8111)
- Christophe Dufresnes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8497-8908)
- David Tarkhnishvili (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1479-9880)
- Glenn M. Shea (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0052-4205)
- Konstantin D. Milto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4061-0164)
- Hinrich Kaiser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0001-9428)
- Marinus Steven Hoogmoed
Institutions
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (BR)
- Australian Museum (AU)
- École Pratique des Hautes Études (FR)
- Bangor University (GB)
- Universidade do Porto (PT)
- Ilia State University (GE)
- University of Oslo (NO)
- Victor Valley College (US)
- Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt (DE)
- Zoological Institute (RU)
- Charles Darwin University (AU)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig (DE)
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (FR)
- Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (DE)
- Bear Valley (US)
- Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (DE)
- Technische Universität Braunschweig (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
- Published
- 2024-08-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae099
- Citations
- 15
- Primary Topic
- Amphibian and Reptile Biology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.24