The Taxonomy Thread

This open access article, published in 2021 in Scientific Reports, had passed me by;
Population genetics and evolutionary history of the endangered Eld’s deer (Rucervus eldii) with implications for planning species recovery | Scientific Reports
Main points being that Rucervus eldii is maintained as a single species, with the Hainan population potentially as an undescribed 4th subspecies; but it is removed from Rucervus (retained for barasingha and Schomburgk’s deer) and returned to Cervus, along with all present Rusa species and Pere David's deer, due to paraphyly.

Has this been refuted since, or if not why the delay in more widespread acceptance of these findings?
 
Molecular exploration of fossil eggshell uncovers hidden lineage of giant extinct bird | Nature Communications

New elephant bird study, looking at mitochondrial genomes obtained from eggshell fragments. Main findings seem to be:
  • Separation of Mullerornis into a distinct family, still the sister lineage of the other elephant birds.
  • Suggestion that Vorombe titan is a synonym of Aepyornis maximus, and the difference in size of bone remains may be due to extreme sexual dimorphism.
  • The discovery of a distinct lineage in northern Madagascar, related to Aepyornis hildebranti of the central highlands, and either the sister species or a subspecies of that taxon- the authors refrain from naming it since no bone remains have yet been found, only eggshells.
 
I thought that Diplocaulus was an amphibian. On Saturday, I visited the Cambridge Zoology Museum and found that lepospondyls were classified as reptilomorphs (Reptiliomorpha - Wikipedia), distantly related to the ancestors of mammals and reptiles.
I found that out when I got a set of “prehistoric amphibian“ figurines. It contained Diplocaulus as well as “Eogyrinus”. Not only was “Eogyrinus“ a reptiliomorph; it is also an invalid genus and junior synonym of Pholiderpeton. In case you’re wondering, the set also includes Crassigyrinus (now known to be a stem-tetrapod), four temnospondyls, and one true lissamphibian (the transitional stem-frog Triadobatrachus). For the record, these figures were released in 1998.506B85DD-581E-4239-BB39-8C043CB2FCD0.jpeg
 

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