Above: Labidochromis vellicans, a male photographed underwater at Monkey Bay, Malawi. Below: The lectotype of Labidochromis vellicans (a female, 56.2 mm SL; BMNH 1935.6.14: 326), from Nkudzi Bay, Malawi. Photo from Plate 10e and drawing from Fig. 1 of Lewis (1982).
In selecting the syntype pictured below as the lectotype of Trewavas's species
L. vellicans,
Lewis violated Recommendation 74B of the International Code of Zoological
Nomenclature ("Figured specimen. A zoologist should choose as lectotype
a syntype of which a figure has been published, if such exists").
Trewavas (1935) did publish such a figure (fig. 7)
of a different L. vellicans syntype, which Lewis referred to
his species L. shiranus.
Nevertheless, since the Code passage quoted above is only a recommendation,
Lewis's lectotype designation for L. vellicans was not invalidated by his
decision, and does fix the identity of L. vellicans as the short-snouted, small
species illustrated above and below.
Last Update: 20 November 1999
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