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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Richard Klim" data-source="post: 1385037" data-attributes="member: 773">Dickinson 2003 (H&M3):"Esacus magnirostris - Two alternative names have been proposed for this (giganteus and neglectus).  We believe application to the ICZN is needed to resolve this dispute and for now follow Hume (1996) pending a ruling." Corrigenda: "The nomenclatural issue arises only when Esacus is submerged in Burhinus"Hume 1996 (HBW3) [Esacus magnirostris]:"Two thick-knee species have long been the source of much confusion due to problems of nomenclature. Until very recently, the scientific name of the Bush Thick-knee was almost invariably given as Burhinus magnirostris. This caused considerable problems when authors opted to include the Beach Thick-knee in the genus Burhinus, as it was frequently unclear whether the name Burhinus magnirostris was being applied to one species or the other. The Bush Thick-knee was originally described by J. Latham in 1801, when he named two "new species", magnirostris and grallarius, on the same page; unfortunately both of them subsequently turned out to be the Bush Thick-knee! However the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature covers such eventualities, and, following the principle of first reviser, J. Gould's adoption of the name grallarius for this species in 1845 now stands as definitive. In the meantime, though, the Beach Thick-knee's valid species name has, in turn, been the source of much debate and several proposed name changes. It was suggested that L. P. Vieillot's 1818 name magnirostris was not applicable to this species, as it had become a junior secondary homonym due to the grouping of this species in the same genus as the Bush Thick-knee. J. Wagler's 1829 name giganteus was proposed, but it was argued that this name was unidentifiable, and so should be replaced by G. M. Mathews's 1912 name neglectus. However, with the establishment of grallarius as the valid name for the Bush Thick-knee, the principle of homonymy does not come into play, so the correct species name for the Beach Thick-knee remains magnirostris, independent of whether it is placed in Esacus or Burhinus. While the nomenclature should now be clear for future work, there can be no doubt that the confusion will persist with regard to many records in older literature, every time the name Burhinus magnirostris crops up, a situation not helped by the plethora of rather similar vernacular names that exist for both of the species involved. Scientific nomenclature is designed to clarify the identification of taxa by using unique names; this is a very clear case of the pandemonium that can result from the same name being applied to two species that are physically not even particularly similar!" Richard (I need an aspirin!)</blockquote>

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