The Fifth Labour of Heracles: Cleaning the Linnean stable of names for grass snakes (Natrix astreptophora, N. helvetica, N. natrix sensu stricto)
Journal: Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Year: 2020

We scrutinize scientific names erected for or referred to Natrix astreptophora (Seoane, 1884), Natrix helvetica (Lacepède, 1789), and Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758). As far as possible, we provide synonymies for the individual subspecies of each species, identify each name with one of the mtDNA lineages or nuclear genomic clusters within these taxa, and clarify the whereabouts of type material. In addition, we feature homonyms and names erroneously identified with grass snakes. For Natrix astrep