On the unnecessary renaming of homonyms in Pyramidellidae

Two recent articles, by Pimenta and Absolão (1998) and Corgan and Aartsen (1998), were published for the sole purpose of replacing names of homonyms in the Pyramidellidae. Both articles ignored provisions of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Corgan and Aartsen failed to demonstrate that the secondary homonyms that they replaced were congeneric with their supposed senior homonyms. Both sets of authors failed to demonstrate that the names they replaced referred to valid species. Among the replacement names by Pimenta and Absalão, Turbonilla nesiotes is a nomen dubium and Turbonilla sinensis is preoccupied by Clessin, 1900; among those by Corgan and Aarsten, Turbonilla sulcatella is a nomen dubium and Turbonilla abnormalis is unnecessary as secondary homonymy did not exist between Chemnitzia ambigua Suaurin, 1962, a Turbonilla and Turbonilla ambigua Deshayes, 1861, a Syrnola. Renaming of homonyms outside the context of systematic revisions leads to needless proliferation of names and should be avoided.