Lost and Found: Taxonomic Notes on Some Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) from J.F. Zikán found on F. Dissmann's Collection

J. F. Zikán described several new taxa of butterflies from the Neotropical region. The majority of the butterfly types of J. F. Zikán was deposited at the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (IOC). However, some type series were found to be incomplete. The present paper discusses and illustrate some type specimens of Papilionidae and Nymphalidae from J. F. Zikán found in Dissmann's collection, that now is deposited at Museu de Diversidade Biológica from University of Campinas - UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil (ZUEC).

Opinion: Response to concerns about the use of DNA sequences as types in the nomenclature of prokaryotes

In the current Opinion we respond to the major concerns by Bisgaard et al. (2019) and Overmann et al. (2019) and conclude that the adoption of sequences as types for the names of prokaryotes will allow for improvements of the taxonomic framework, increased stability of names derived from robust phylogenomic methods, and enable a full circumscription of the microbial world rather than just the cultivated minority.

The importance of designating type material for uncultured taxa

Naming of uncultured Bacteria and Archaea is often inconsistent with the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes. The recent practice of proposing names for higher taxa without designation of lower ranks and nomenclature types is one of the most important inconsistencies that needs to be addressed to avoid nomenclatural instability. The Code requires names of higher taxa up to the rank of class to be derived from the type genus name, with a proposal pending to formalise this requirement for the rank of phylum. Designation of nomenclature types is crucial for providing priority to names and ensures their uniqueness and stability. However, only legitimate names proposed for axenic cultures can be used for this purpose. Candidatus names reserved for taxa lacking cultured representatives may be granted this right if recent proposals to use genome sequences as type material are endorsed, thereby allowing the Code to be fully applied to lineages represented by metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) or single amplified genomes (SAGs). Genome quality standards need to be considered to ensure unambiguous assignment of type material. Here, we illustrate the recommended practice by proposing nomenclature type material for four major uncultured prokaryotic lineages based on high-quality MAGs in accordance with the Code.