Lacertus viridis, Garsault, 1764

Welter-Schultes, F. W. & Klug, R., 2011, Comments on new names and nomenclatural acts of amphibians and non-avian sauropsids established by Garsault 1764 and Laurenti 1768 (response to Dubois & Bour 2010), Zootaxa 2814, pp. 50-58 : 56-57

Lacertus viridis

It is evident from the information provided by Dubois & Bour (2010) that in Laurenti's times the French populations of the involved group of animals were classified as Lacerta viridis Laurenti, 1768 (even until the 1960s), and that in this sense Laurenti's 1768 use of the name was in agreement with Garsault's 1764 use of the name. So Laurenti 1768 did not establish a new name, this was only a subsequent use of Garsault's name. If the type specimen figured by Garsault 1764 is not in agreement with the present-day use of the name viridis , we would recommend to simply fix a neotype from a region where the animals which are currently known under the name viridis , currently live. This can eventually be a region outside France, neglecting that Garsault's original specimens might have come from France. Such a procedure would not be in contrast to the provisions of Art. 75.3 (because Garsault had not expressly stated where the specimens came from, and a region outside France is cannot be firmly excluded), and it is usual practice in cases where the stability of a commonly used name cannot be saved otherwise.

We regard as ineffective the intention of Dubois & Bour (2010) to suppress Lacertus viridis Garsault, 1764 and to protect Lacerta viridis Laurenti, 1768 under Art. 23.9.2, because (1) Laurenti 1768 just subsequently used Garsault's 1764 name, and (2) effective protection under Art. 23.9.2 was not provided by a simple reference to Nettmann & Rykena (1984: 173–180).