Recent species name changes in the European Lymnaeidae: two tales with unhappy end?

Abstract

Two doubtful cases of species name replacements in the family Lymnaeidae Rafinesque, 1815 (pond snails) proposed in 1990-2000s are discussed. These are: Radix labiata (Rossmäßler, 1835) vs. R. peregra (O.F. Müller, 1774), and Stagnicola fuscus (C. Pfeiffer, 1821) vs. S. vulneratus (Küster, 1862). It is shown that in both instances the name alterations were not based on the conclusive evidence and thus seem to be proposed without substantial reasons. I argue that the name Radix peregra cannot be ruled out and replaced by R. labiata. The type series of the latter has been identified in collection of the Natural History Museum of Vienna and it is shown that R. labiata is a junior synonym of R. balthica (Linnaeus, 1758). The lectotype of Limnaeus pereger var. labiatus Rossmäßler, 1835 is designated. The resurrection of the species name Limnaeus fuscus (Pfeiffer, 1821) for application to a certain species of Stagnicola is also very doubtful since this name must be treated as a nomen dubium , and any taxonomic interpretation of it is inevitable based on more or less reliable hypothesis, not on the total evidence. The replacement of S. vulneratus by its alleged senior synonym adds little to our knowledge on lymnaeid taxonomy and evolutionary relationships. It is desirable that the nomenclatorial principle of priority must not be applied to nomina dubia .