The purpose of this application, under Article 23.9.3, is to conserve the well-known specific name Penion cuvierianus (Powell, 1927) for a common species of marine gastropod from New Zealand. The name is threatened by the senior subjective synonym Verconella rex Finlay, 1926, which has almost never been mentioned since its first publication. Precedence of the name Penion cuvierianus is proposed to maintain stability of nomenclature.

The purpose of this application, under Articles 78.1, 78.2.3 and 80.2 of the Code, is to resolve an ongoing issue involving the gender of the name of the silverfish genus Lepisma Linnaeus, 1758 and other generic names derived from Lepisma. Under Direction 71 issued by the Commission in 1957, Lepisma is deemed to be of feminine gender despite being etymologically neuter. Unfortunately, Direction 71 did not explicitly advise on the treatment of genus-group names derived from Lepisma, all of which are neuter under Article 30.1.2 of the Code but nonetheless have generally been treated as feminine. Under Article 29.5 of the Code, prevailing use of the family name lepismatidae so spelled is not affected by the generic-level gender problem, but the scope of the gender-related confusion extends to almost half of the generic and specific names in the family lepismatidae Latreille, 1802, including such cosmopolitan peridomestic pests as Lepisma saccharina Linnaeus, 1758 and Ctenolepisma longicaudata Escherich, 1905. Three possible resolutions are proposed: that the Commission confirm that Direction 71 stands and the gender of Lepisma is feminine and also either (1) confirm that under Article 30.1.2 of the Code all generic names derived from Lepisma are of neuter gender, thereby filling the gap in Direction 71, or (2) rule under the plenary power that all generic names derived from Lepisma are of feminine gender, thereby endorsing current usage; or (3) that the Commission use their plenary power to rescind Direction 71 such that Lepisma assumes its etymologically correct neuter gender, while also confirming that under Article 30.1.2 of the Code all genera with names derived from Lepisma are of neuter, not feminine, gender. Reasons are given for preferring the third option, despite the resulting need to emend at least 129 species-group names in the genera involved.

The purpose of this application, under Articles 78.1 and 81.1 of the Code, is to replace Diplodocus longus Marsh, 1878 as the type species of the sauropod dinosaur genus Diplodocus by the much better represented D. carnegii Hatcher, 1901, due to the undiagnosable state of the holotype of D. longus (YPM 1920, a partial tail and a chevron). The holotype of D. carnegii, CM 84, is a well-preserved and mostly articulated specimen. Casts of it are on display in various museums around the world, and the species has generally been used as the main reference for studies of comparative anatomy or phylogeny of the genus. Both species are known from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the western United States. The genus Diplodocus is the basis for the family-level taxa diplodocinae Marsh, 1884, diplodocidae Marsh, 1884, diplodocimorpha Marsh, 1884 (Calvo & Salgado, 1995) and diplodocoidea Marsh, 1884 (Upchurch, 1995). It is also a specifier of at least 10 phylogenetic clades. With the replacement of D. longus by D. carnegii as type species, Diplodocus could be preserved as a taxonomic name with generally accepted content. Taxonomic stability of the entire clade diplodocoidea, and the proposed definitions of several clades within Sauropoda, could be maintained.

The purpose of this application, under Article 23.9.3 of the Code, is to suppress the little-used senior homonym charinidae Gray, 1849 in order to conserve the family-group name charinidae Quintero, 1986. charinidae Quintero, 1986 is a well-established name for the most speciose group of Amblypygi, while charinidae (originally charinini) Gray, 1849 has been little used since its original proposal; to resurrect this name would be disruptive to both arachnid and snake taxonomy. The suppression of charinidae Gray 1849 will help to conserve its widely used junior synonym ungaliopheinae McDowell, 1987. The name charinidae Cope, 1886 is declared nomen oblitum under Article 23.9.2 of the Code. The family-group name charinusidae Pyron, Reynolds & Burbrink, 2014 (Arachnida) proposed to replace the family-group name charinidae Quintero, 1986 is unavailable and unnecessary.

The purpose of this application, under Article 23.9.3 of the Code, is to conserve the existing usage of the name Columba livia Gmelin, 1789 by granting livia Gmelin, 1789 precedence over the names domestica Linnaeus, 1758, gutturosa Linnaeus, 1758 and cucullata Linnaeus, 1758, whenever any of them is considered a synonym of livia. The three latter names are all subjective senior synonyms that cannot be subject to reversal of precedence under Article 23.9.1 of the Code. Columba livia Gmelin, 1789, the rock dove or rock pigeon, is a common bird species of pan-global distribution, the ‘wild stem’ of feral pigeons and domestic pigeon breeds and a species of economic and cultural importance. In order to conserve the trinomen Columba livia domestica Linnaeus, 1758, which has some modern usage in experimental biology for feral populations and domestic breeds when such a distinction is desired at the subspecies level, it is additionally proposed under Article 23.9.3 to set aside Article 24.1 of the Code and grant domestica Linnaeus, 1758 precedence over both gutturosa Linnaeus, 1758 and cucullata Linnaeus, 1758 whenever either of the latter is considered a synonym of the former.

Under the plenary power the Commission has conserved the specific name of the terrestrial slug Krynickillus maculatus Kaleniczenko, 1851 (currently Limax maculatus or Limacus maculatus, limacidae) by suppression of its little-used senior homonyms Limax maculatus Nunneley, 1837 and Limax cinereus var. maculatus Picard, 1840.

Under the plenary power the Commission has conserved the specific name of Saturnia canningi Hutton, 1859, the progenitor of Samia ricini (Jones, 1791). Both names have been used widely and consistently by authors in the entomological and sericultural literature for over 150 years to refer to the wild and domesticated entities, respectively. The name Saturnia canningi has been added to the Official List of Specific Names in Zoology, and can continue to be used when referring to the wild form.

Under the plenary and specific powers the Commission has confirmed the unavailability of 23 names published by Marseul in 1879, one name published by Pic in 1892, one name attributed to Pic in 1911 and one name used by Krekich-Strassoldo in 1919. These names were incorrectly used by Chandler, Nardi & Telnov in 2004, in place of the correct names that had been proposed by Pic and Sahlberg. The name Clavicomus Pic, 1894 is given precedence over Pseudantichus Desbrochers des Loges, 1868 whenever the two are considered to be synonyms.

Under the plenary power the Commission has conserved the specific name of the widely cited fossil brachiopod Anathyris monstrum Khalfin, 1933 by ruling that the two unused ‘varietal’ names, which together ambiguously comprised the species, are unavailable from their original descriptions in Khalfin (1933). In addition, the Commission has confirmed the conditionally proposed lectotype designation for Anathyris monstrum.

Under the plenary power the Commission has conserved the current usage of the name Terrapene putnami Hay, 1906 by replacing a nondiagnostic holotype (a fragment of a left hypoplastron) that was collected from a temporally mixed locality, with a more complete specimen comprised of the carapace, plastron, and associated non-shell postcrania from a nearby locality of late Pleistocene age. All type fixations for Terrapene putnami have been set aside and a firmly dated late Pleistocene neotype has been designated.

Under the plenary power the Commission has conserved the family name corcoracidae Mathews, 1927 for the Australian bird family known as mudnesters and melanorhamphos Vieillot, 1817 as the correct spelling of the valid name for the type species of the type genus of corcoracidae.

The purpose of this note, under Article 75.8 of the Code, is to set aside the neotype for the ichnospecies Attenosaurus subulensis Aldrich in Aldrich and Jones, 1930. It was believed that the type specimens for Attenosaurus subulensis were lost; however, a recent search through the collections at the Alabama Museum of Natural History in Tuscaloosa led to the rediscovery of one of the two syntypes. Furthermore, the rediscovery of the syntype of the ichnospecies Cincosaurus cobbi Aldrich in Aldrich and Jones, 1930 should also be recognized. The discovery of a portion of the Attenosaurus subulensis type series negates the previously erected neotype.

Photographs of individuals of new species have been used recently as a proxy for physical holotypes when specimens could not be or were not sampled. The arguments that have been presented in favour of this practice are discussed and shown to be ill-founded. The absence of physical specimens may be the source of considerable controversy and the effects of describing new species without physical holotypes are considered detrimental to the future of taxonomy and maintenance of scientific collections.