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What instances are there in which two species share the same binomial name?

Biology Asked by D Mellinger on June 20, 2021

Since binomials are required to be unique only within a kingdom, two species can share the same binomial name if they are in different kingdoms. I know of one instance of this, Orestias elegans: this name denotes a species of fish (kingdom Animalia) as well as a species of orchid (kingdom Plantae).

Are there other instances where one binomial name validly refers to two (or more!) species?

2 Answers

There are four other instances of species-level hemihomonyms I can find:

  1. Agathis montana can be either a critically endangered species of conifer or a parasitic insect.
  2. Centropogon australis can be either a fish or a plant with a long red flower.
  3. Asterina gibbosa can be either a sea star or a type of fungus
  4. Baileya australis can be a moth or a yellow flowering plant

Answered by hamilthj on June 20, 2021

In addition to the five listed above, Wikipedia currently shows two others, for a total of seven:

Ficus variegata can be either a sea snail or a fig

Tritonia pallida can be either a nudibranch or an iris

See "Hemihomonyms" here.

Answered by D Mellinger on June 20, 2021

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