Sometimes taxonomists create new names for groups that already have a name. They may do this because they are unaware of the original name, or they may think the organism before them belongs to a different group when in fact it does not. If two or more names are found to apply to the same group, they are considered synonyms. In most cases, the first name takes priority and is considered to be the valid or accepted name. However, there can be exceptions, and it's not always easy to determine which of a series of synonyms should be considered valid or accepted. Here we list the synonyms provided to EOL by our classification partners. We also include other versions of the name that most likely refer to the same group, for example, misspellings in the literature or different variations of the authorship associated with the name.

Preferred marks the preferred name from each source.

World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)

Name Relationship
Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus, 1758) Preferred
Delphinus (Phocaena) phocaena Gray, 1828 Synonym
Delphinus phocaena Muller, 1776 Synonym
Delphinus phocoena Linnaeus, 1758 Basionym
Delphinus ventricosus Lacépède, 1804 Synonym
Phocaena americana J. A. Allen, 1869 Synonym
Phocaena brachcium Hall & Kelson, 1959 Synonym
Phocaena brachycium Cope, 1865 Synonym
Phocaena communis Lesson, 1827 Synonym
Phocaena lineata Cope, 1876 Synonym
Phocaena phocaena Kleinenberg, 1956 Synonym
Phocaena phocaena acuminata Van Deinse, 1935 Synonym
Phocaena phocaena acuminata var. conidens Van Deinse, 1946 Synonym
Phocaena tuberculifera Gray, 1865 Synonym
Phocaena vomerina Gill, 1865 Synonym
Phocena phocena Gray, 1821 Synonym
Phocoena rondeletti Giglioli, 1870 Synonym
Phocoena vomerina Hall & Kelson, 1959 Synonym

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

Name Relationship
Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus, 1758) Preferred
Delphinus phocoena Linnaeus, 1758 Original name/combination

Paleobiology Database

Name Relationship
Phocaena phocaena (Linnaeus 1758) Preferred
Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus, 1758) Valid
Delphinus phocaena (Linnaeus 1758) Valid
Delphinus phocoena Linnaeus, 1758 Valid

NCBI Taxonomy

Name Relationship
Phocoena phocoena Preferred
Phocoenoides phocoena Synonym

Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: April 2013

Name Relationship
Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus, 1758) Preferred
Delphinus phocoena Linnaeus, 1758 Synonym

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