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.

The Reptile Database

Name Relationship
Chelonia mydas Linnaeus 1758 Preferred
Testudo mydas LINNAEUS 1758: 197 Synonym
Testudo macropus WALBAUM 1782 (nomen illegitimum) Synonym
Testudo marina vulgaris LACÉPÈDE 1788 (nomen subst. pro T. mydas L.) Synonym
Testudo cepediana DAUDIN 1802 Synonym
Chelonia mydas — SCHWEIGGER 1812 Synonym
Caretta cepedii MERREM 1820 (nomen subst. pro T. cepediana DAUDIN) Synonym
Chelonia lachrymata CUVIER 1829 Synonym
Testudo Mydas — CUVIER 1831: 15 Synonym
Chelonia Midas — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 538 Synonym
Euchelus macropus GIRARD 1858 Synonym
Chelonia albiventer NARDO 1864 Synonym
Thalassiochelys albiventer — GÜNTHER 1865 (Zool. Rec. 1864: 148) Synonym
Chelonia midas — BOCAGE 1866 (ex errore) Synonym
Mydas viridis GRAY 1870 Synonym
Chelone mydas — BOULENGER 1889: 180 Synonym
Natator tessellatus MCCULLOCH 1908 Synonym
Chelonia mydas carrinegra CALDWELL 1962 Synonym
Chelonia mydas — STEBBINS 1985: 105 Synonym
Chelonia mydas — ENGELMANN et al. 1993 Synonym
Chelonia mydas — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 76 Synonym
Chelonia mydas — GLAW & VENCES 1994: 229 Synonym
Chelonia mydas — COGGER 2000: 180 Synonym
Chelonia mydas mydas (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonym
Testudo viridis SCHNEIDER 1783 Synonym
Chelonia virgata SCHWEIGGER 1812 Synonym
Caretta esculenta MERREM 1820 Synonym
Chelonia maculosa CUVIER 1829 Synonym
Chelonia bicarinata LESSON 1834 (in BÉLANGER) Synonym
Chelonia Virgata — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 541 Synonym
Chelonia maculosa — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 544 Synonym
Chelonia marmorata DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 546 Synonym
Chelonia virgata — GÜNTHER 1864: 53 Synonym
Chelone virgata — BOULENGER 1887: 407 Synonym
Chelonia virgata — BARBOUR 1918: 488 Synonym
Chelonia mydas mydas — MERTENS & MÜLLER 1928 Synonym
Chelonia mydas mydas — FRITZ & HAVAS 2007 Synonym
Chelonia mydas agassizi BOCOURT 1868 Synonym
Chelonia agassizi BOCOURT 1868: 122 Synonym
Testudo japonica THUNBERG 1787: 178 Synonym
Testudo rugosa DAUDIN 1802 (non Testudo rugosa SHAW) Synonym
Caretta thunbergi MERREM 1820 (nomen subst. pro T. japonica THUNBERG) Synonym
Chelonia mydas [var.] japonica, GRAY 1831 Synonym
Chelonia formosa GIRARD 1858 Synonym
Chelonia tenuis GIRARD 1858 Synonym
Chelonia agassizii Bocourt, 1868 Synonym
Chelonia agassizii — GRAY 1873: 113 Synonym
Chelonia lata PHILIPPI 1887 Synonym
Chelonia japonica — STEJNEGER 1907: 509 Synonym
Natator tesselatus MCCULLOCH 1908 Synonym
Chelonia mydas agassizii — STEBBINS 1985: 105 Synonym
Chelonia agassizii — LINER 1994 Synonym
Chelonia agassizzii [sic] — LEHR 2002: 201 Synonym
Chelonia agassizii — BONIN et al 2006 Synonym
Chelonia mydas agassizii — FRITZ & HAVAS 2007 Synonym
Chelonia mydas japonica (THUNBERG 1787) Synonym
Chelonia japonica — GARMAN 1908: 8 Synonym
Chelonia japonica — STEJNEGER 1910 Synonym
Chelonia mydas japonica — SHANNON 1956 Synonym
Chelonia mydas japonica — PAWLOWSKI & KRÄMER 2008 Synonym

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

Name Relationship
Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758) Preferred
Chelonia mydas mydas (Linnaeus, 1758) Subsequent name/combination
Chelonia agassizii Bocourt, 1868 Junior synonym
Testudo mydas Linnaeus, 1758 Original name/combination
Chelonia mydas agassizii Bocourt, 1868 Junior synonym
Chelonia agassizi Bocourt, 1868 Unavailable, literature misspelling

Paleobiology Database

Name Relationship
Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758) Preferred
Testudo mydas Linnaeus, 1758 Valid

NCBI Taxonomy

Name Relationship
Chelonia mydas Preferred
Chelonia agassizi Synonym
Chelonia midas Synonym
Chelonia mydas caranigra Includes

Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: April 2013

Name Relationship
Chelonia mydas Linnaeus 1758 Preferred
Caretta cepedii MERREM 1820 Synonym
Chelone mydas BOULENGER 1889 Synonym
Chelonia lachrymata CUVIER 1829 Synonym
Chelonia Midas DUMÉRIL 1835 Synonym
Euchelus macropus GIRARD 1858 Synonym
Mydas viridis GRAY 1870 Synonym
Testudo cepediana DAUDIN 1802 Synonym
Testudo macropus WALBAUM 1782 Synonym
Testudo marina vulgaris LACÉPÈDE 1788 Synonym
Testudo mydas Linnaeus, 1758 Synonym
Natator tessellatus MCCULLOCH 1908 Ambiguous synonym

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