Tuhinga 14: 1-9, doi: 10.3897/tuhinga.14.e34137

Resolution of the status of the taxon Apteryx maxima

Ricardo Palma^‡, Trevor H. Worthy, Alan Tennyson^§

‡ unknown, New Zealand§ Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Palma R, Worthy TH, Tennyson A (2003) Resolution of the status of the taxonApteryx maxima. Tuhinga 14: 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3897/tuhinga.14.e34137

Abstract

We investigate the history, availability, and validity of the nominal taxon Apteryx maxima. We conclude that Apteryx maxima Sclater & Hochstetter, 1861, is an available name, and a senior synonym of Apteryx haastii Potts, 1872. However, we propose that the junior synonym (Apteryx haastii) be regarded as the valid name (nomen protectum) for the species known as the great spotted kiwi, while relegating Apteryx maxima to be an invalid name (nomen oblitum), in accordance with Article 23.9 on Reversal of precedence as established in the Fourth Edition of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature published in 1999. Also, we designate a neotype for Apteryx maxima .

Keywords

Apteryx haastii, Apteryx maxima, kiwi, history, synonym, nomen nudum, nomen protectum, nomen oblitum, neotype.