2025/07/30 by Sebastián Marín-Puerta, Darwin M. Morales-Martínez, Paola Pulido‐Santacruz +1 · 1 voice
Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Species Distribution and Climate Change #Evolution and Paleontology Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.3897/zse.101.152765
openalex publication_date 2025/07/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/21
Leopardus narinensis was first mentioned in 2018, but at that time it was not available under the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) due to the absence of a designated type specimen and a detailed description. The name only became available in 2023, when the same authors published a formal description in accordance with ICZN requirements. In this study, based on morphological and genetic data, we compared and analyzed the type specimen of L. narinensis with specimens of L. pardinoides (Gray, 1867) from Colombia housed in scientific collections. We conclude that Leopardus narinensis Ruiz-García, Pinedo-Castro & Shostell, 2023, is a junior synonym of Leopardus pardinoides (Gray, 1867). In addition, we highlight problems associated with the use of unavailable names and recommend good practices for taxonomic and systematic studies.