Cuniculus hernandezi

Cuniculus hernandezi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cuniculidae
Genus:	Cuniculus
Species:	C. hernandezi
Binomial name
	Cuniculus hernandezi; Castro, López & Becerra, 2010

Cuniculus hernandezi is a name coined for a proposed species of paca described as an endemic to the Central Andes in Colombia, the only place it has been identified as such to date. Individuals may weigh over 14 pounds (6.4 kg), making C. hernandezi a rather large rodent. The authors omitted a description of the animal, but it is thought to be very similar to the mountain paca, C. taczanowskii, from which this taxon was split. According to the authors, analysis of its mitochondrial DNA and karyotypy indicated that it may be a distinct species.^[1] The specific epithet honours Colombian biologist Dr. Jorge Hernández Camacho.^[2]

Héctor Ramírez-Chaves and , in 2014, argued that the species is not an available name (nomen nudum) according to the rules of the current International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), due to imprecise definition of the taxon and lack of a type specimen. Not only is the taxonomy blundered; the original research also used a faulty methodology with limited data to obtain their genetic tree, omitted to publish important results validating (or not) their conclusions, neglected a study of the availability of previously proposed names for pacas found in the region (old synonyms; i.e. C. serriae in Colombia and Venezuela), and presented no evidence with which to identify the taxon (even the illustrations lack identifications). Although the authors claim that the taxon is easily differentiated by the size of the interparietal bone, they then mention that morphological measurements cannot distinguish the taxon, nor do they provide any evidence to back these assertions. Furthermore, no evidence was presented restricting the taxon to the central Cordilleras.^[3]

References[]

^ Rodríguez, Elizabeth Cañas (28 April 2010). "New Discovery: Third Biggest Rodent in the World". UN Periódico. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
^ Castro, Jose J.; Bautista López, Juan; Becerra, Francisco (2010). "Una nueva especie de Cuniculus (Rodentia:Cuniculidae) de la Cordillera Central de Colombia" [A new species of Cuniculus (Rodentia:Cuniculidae) from the central mountains of Colombia]. Revista de la Asociación Colombiana de Ciencias Biológicas (in Spanish) (22): 122–131. Archived from the original on 2014-09-21.
^ RAMÍREZ-CHAVES, H.E.; SOLARI, S. (2014). "Sobre la disponibilidade del nombre Cuniculus hernandezi Castro, López y Becerra, 2010 (Rodentia: Cuniculidae)". Actualidades Biológicas. 36 (100): 59–62.

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[1] Rodríguez, Elizabeth Cañas (28 April 2010). "New Discovery: Third Biggest Rodent in the World". UN Periódico. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2014.

[2] Castro, Jose J.; Bautista López, Juan; Becerra, Francisco (2010). "Una nueva especie de Cuniculus (Rodentia:Cuniculidae) de la Cordillera Central de Colombia" [A new species of Cuniculus (Rodentia:Cuniculidae) from the central mountains of Colombia]. Revista de la Asociación Colombiana de Ciencias Biológicas (in Spanish) (22): 122–131. Archived from the original on 2014-09-21.

[3] RAMÍREZ-CHAVES, H.E.; SOLARI, S. (2014). "Sobre la disponibilidade del nombre Cuniculus hernandezi Castro, López y Becerra, 2010 (Rodentia: Cuniculidae)". Actualidades Biológicas. 36 (100): 59–62.

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