Valid name for the Balkan lynx: Lynx lynx martinoi Mirić, 1978, is a junior synonym of Lyx lyx balcanicus Bureš, 1941

• Main Author: Kryštufek, Boris
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Balkan endemism; principle of priority; subspecies; type locality; zoological nomenclature; Lynx; Lynx lynx lynx
• Online Access: https://kramerius.lib.cas.cz/view/uuid:cb7d47c3-c7a9-4d95-983c-c57559a88bf8

Two available subspecific names are used interchangeably for the Balkan lynx. In this contribution I demonstrate that the valid name is Lynx lynx balcanicus Bureš, 1941, and L. l. martinoi Mirić, 1978, is its junior synonym. The type locality of L. l. balcanicus is the Šara Mts. in the Republic of Macedonia. In reaching this conclusion, I refrain from infringing upon taxonomic judgment on whether or not the Balkan lynx is a subspecies in its own right. While addressing the Balkan lynx over the last decade, conservationists have largely ignored the older synonym balcanicus and used instead a junior synonym martinoi.