Usage of Cylindrus FITZINGER, 1833 conserved by the ICZN

A longlasting controversy about the generic affiliation of the Austrian endemic Cylindrus obtusus recently came to an end.

According to some authors, the generic name Cylindrus Fitzinger, 1833 should be considered as invalid as it is pre-occupied by Cylindrus Batsch, 1789 und Cylindrus Deshayes, 1824. A counterargument was put forward that these names are unused and were partly incorrectly applied. Cylindrus Fitzinger, 1833 is a younger synonyme of Cochlopupa Jan, 1830. Nevertheless, the latter name has also never been used in traditional nomenclature. The subsequent controversies amongst zoologists led to an application at the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) in 2015 http://iczn.org/node/40566.

In January 2019 the ICZN decided to conserve the name Cylindrus Fitzinger, 1833 and suppress all other names mentioned before (https://biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/44173). Therefore, no generic changes are done for this well-known, monotypic genus which is a model for Alpine endemism in gastropods.