TANAIDIDAE Nobili, 1906

Bamber, Roger N, 2014, Two new species of Sinelobus Sieg, 1980 (Crustacea: Tanaidacea: Tanaididae), and a correction to the higher taxonomic nomenclature, Journal of Natural History 48 (33 - 34), pp. 2049-2068 : 2050-2051

Family TANAIDIDAE Nobili, 1906

Remarks: Tanaidae Dana, 1849 , albeit the longest standing family-group name in the Tanaidomorpha , is unfortunately a junior homonym of Tanainae Schoenherr, 1839 , based on the genus Tanaos Schoenherr, 1826 , in current use in Coleoptera .

Of potential synonyms, Crossurinae was coined by Dana (1852) as a subfamily within the Tanaidae , from the genus Crossurus Rathke, 1843 , a junior synonym of Tanais Milne-Edwards, 1828 , but is itself homonymous, being pre-occupied by Crossurus Wagler, 1830 (Reptilia) , and so unavailable.

In fact, Tanaidae is an elided form of the grammatically correct family-group-name structure Tanaididae from the type-genus Tanais Milne-Edwards, 1828 , thus the stem ‘Tanaid-’. Usage of the elided form was correct in the sense of Article 29.3.1.1 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), owing to prevailing usage. Fortunately, the next available synonym (see Sieg 1983) is Tanaididae Nobili, 1906 (q.v.), and it is to this name that the family reverts. As a result, under Article 36 of the ICZN (Principle of Coordination), the subfamily Tanainae becomes Tanaidinae Nobili, 1906 , and the superfamily becomes Tanaidoidea Nobili, 1906 . This resolution approaches most closely the requirements of stability under the ICZN.

Note, however, that Archaeotanainae Sieg, 1980 and Langitanainae Sieg, 1980 are unaffected, and they remain correct under Article 29.3.1.1. Fortunately, names of taxa above superfamily rank are also unaffected (Article 1.2.2).