MONOGENEA VERSUS MONOGENOIDEA - THE CASE FOR STABILITY IN NOMENCLATURE

Monogenea van Beneden, 1858 is the most appropriate name to apply to t he class of Platyhelminthes comprising the monogenean flatworms. Monog enoidea sensu Bychowsky (1937) is considered an emendation of Monogene a van Beneden, 1858. Arguments that support the use of Monogenoidea as the valid name of the class are based on erroneous assumptions of aut horship and of ''priority'' and ''rank'', as defined in the Internatio nal Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a document that does not apply to taxa above the family level, In the absence of defined rules, names f or higher taxa should be based on a combination of priority, stability and consensus among specialists, with stability and consensus the mos t important considerations. The priority of Monogenoidea versus Monoge nea is questionable, and both nomenclatural stability and consensus am ong specialists favour the use of Monogenea rather than Monogenoidea.