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Metazoa > Chordata > Mammalia > Rodentia > Myoxidae
Familia Myoxidae
Information about the family
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Problematic nomenclature
There is considerable disagreement about the correct name for this
family of rodents. Even though there has been a ruling by the
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature the correct name
still remains controversial. Therefore, I will give here a brief
overview of the history of the name that explains the current status of
the discussion.
There are several names in use for this family. The oldest name is
"Gliridae". This name traces from the Latin vernacular name of the
Edible Dormouse (lat. "glis") and has been published in the form "family
Glirini" by Muirhead (1819).
Because it is the oldest name established at a rank above the genus
group, it normally would have priority over other family names. However,
this name does not fulfill the
basic criteria for a family-group name in Article 11.7.1.1 of the
International Code of
Zoological Nomenclature (International Commission on Zoological
Nomenclature 1999):
(1) noun in the nominative plural
(2) formed from an available generic name
(3) generic name must be a name then used as valid in the new family-group taxon
Muirhead´s "Glirini" is a noun and, although not a regular nominative
plural form of the latin "glis", can be interpreted as a plural form. It
can also be interpreted as being formed from the genus name Glis, which
is available according to Opinion 1894 (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1998). However, the name does
not satisfy the third requirement, because the generic name Glis is not
included by Muirhead in his "Glirini". In fact, Muirhead includes the
Edible Dormouse, but in the genus Myoxus, thus providing solid evidence
that he does not regard Glis as a valid name for this taxon. Thus, "Gliridae" cannot be the valid name for the family.
The next available family name is "Myoxidae". This name is formed from
the genus name Myoxus, which is a junior objective synonym of Glis (see
Opinion 1894 (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1998)), and has first been published in the form
"Myosidae" by Gray (1821), of which "Myoxidae" is a justified
emendation. The name "Myoxidae" satisfies all three criteria of Article
11.7.1.1. It is a noun and has a plural ending "-idae". It is formed from
the invalid, but available generic name Myoxus, and Gray used Myoxus as a
then valid genus name included in his "Myosidae".
The ruling of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to
preserve the genus name Glis (although published in a non-binominal
work) has led several authors to erroneously conclude that also
"Gliridae" must be regarded as valid (see e.g. Morris 2003). However,
the ruling in Opinion 1894 only affects the genus names, but
has no effect on the family-group names. The fact that Myoxus is placed
as a junior objective synonym under Glis, makes it invalid, but not
unavailable, and Article 11.7.1.1. only requires the family name to be
formed from an available name, not a currently valid name. As explained above, the family
name "Gliridae" does not satisfy all criteria of the Code and therefore
the next younger name Myosidae in its emended form Myoxidae ist the
valid name of the family.
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This page has been
updated on September 23, 2013
This site is online since May 31, 2005
Copyright © by Nikola-Michael Prpic-Schäper. All rights
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