Tritomini, Curtis, 1834

Skelley, Paul E., 2020, Nomenclatural notes for the Erotylinae (Coleoptera: Erotylidae), Insecta Mundi 2020 (767), pp. 1-35 : 4

I. Tritomini : Eudaemonius Lewis vs. Eutriplax Lewis

Concern discovered. Unnecessary replacement name.

Discussion and results. Eudaemonius Lewis (1887a) was described with a single Japanese species, E. tuberculifrons Lewis 1887a . Believing the name Eudaemonius was a homonym with Eudaemonia Hübner, 1819 ( Lepidoptera : Saturniidae ), Lewis (1887b) proposed Eutriplax as a replacement name. Since 1887, Eudaemonius Lewis has been used as an available name in two publications: Jakobson (1915) and Winkler (1926). All other works examined refer to this genus as Eutriplax Lewis.

The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN 1999, Article 56.2) states a single letter difference is enough to prevent homonymy between two similar generic names. Thus, Lewis’s (1887b) replacement name was unnecessary. To maintain prevailing use of Eutriplax , two conditions outlined in the ICZN (1999), Article 23.9.1, must be met. First, Article 23.9.1.1 states the senior name [ Eudaemonius ] must not have been used as an available name since 1899. Second, Article 23.9.1.2 states the name to be conserved [ Eutriplax ] must have been used in more than 25 publication in the last 50 years [in this case, 1969 to date]. The first condition has not been met, and I have not found 25 recent primary references using the name Eutriplax . Since both conditions are required to maintain current use, the name for this genus must revert to Lewis’s original name Eudaemonius , with Eutriplax being the junior synonym. The following synonymy accounts for all ensuing nomenclatural changes for the included species.