The purpose of this application, under Article 75.5 of the Code, is to designate a neotype for Belostoma ellipticum Latreille, 1833. This species has been accepted by heteropterists since 1962, but it is actually a nomen dubium, since Latreille designated neither types nor a type locality and provided little descriptive information. Subsequent to Latreille, in the absence of a useful diagnosis, authors referred specimens of several other taxonomically valid taxa to B. ellipticum. Belostoma ellipticum sensu Lauck, 1962, however, is readily defined by the presence of a pair of conspicuous notches along the lateral margins of the ventral diverticulum of the phallus in ventral view, and it is this concept of the species that has gained general acceptance. Fixation of a neotype displaying this feature, which cannot be confirmed in any potentially syntypic Latreille specimen of the subspinosum group in Carreno's collection at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, will facilitate retention of B. ellipticum as a valid species name.

The purpose of this application, under Articles 78.1 and 81.2.1 of the Code, is to conserve a name that has been used mistakenly for a long time for a very well-known Holarctic butterfly species, by suppressing Papilio phoebus Fabricius, 1793 and thereby freeing for use Papilio phoebus de Prunner, 1798, a junior primary homonym that actually refers to the taxonomic species in question. This course, effectively resulting only in a change in authorship, would make additional name changes unnecessary and thus promote nomenclatural stability.

The purpose of this application, under Article 81 of the Code, is to conserve the widely used generic name Acanthurus Forsskål, 1775 in its accustomed usage by the designation of Chaetodon sohal Forsskål, 1775 as the type species. The nominal species Chaetodon unicornis Forsskål, 1775 is currently the type species of Acanthurus by the subsequent designation of Jordan & Everman (1898), but this species currently belongs in the unicornfish genus Naso Lacepède, 1801, effectively rendering Acanthurus a senior synonym of Naso. It is proposed that all previous type fixations for Acanthurus including the one by Jordan & Evermann (1898) be set aside and that C. sohal be designated the type species of Acanthurus in accordance with the current usage of Acanthurus.

The purpose of this application, under Articles 78.2.3 and 80.2.1 of the Code, is to confirm the availability of the nominal species Tapirus pygmaeus Van Roosmalen & Van Hooft in Van Roosmalen 2013 [22 April] for the black dwarf tapir, thus also confirming its priority over the subjective synonym Tapirus kabomani Cozzuol et al., 2013 [December], by ruling that Van Roosmalen's edited book Barefoot through the Amazon — On the path of evolution, in which T. pygmaeus was proposed, is not unavailable solely on account of its being advertised as a print-on-demand work, but is an original multiple-copy, simultaneously available edition. It is shown that Van Roosmalen & Van Hooft's publication contained information sufficient to satisfy the criteria of availability under Articles 10 to 20 of the Code.

The purpose of this application, under Articles 74 and 81 of the Code, is to maintain the usage of the name Gazella arabica (Lichtenstein, 1827) for a gazelle from central and southern Arabia. The lectotype designated by Neumann in 1906, consisting of a skull and skin, has been found to be composite and it is proposed that only the skin be retained as the name-bearing specimen. The holotype of Gazella arabica rueppelli Neumann, 1906, consisting also of a skull and skin, is also composite and only the skin is now retained as the name-bearing specimen, rendering the name rueppelli a junior synonym of G. gazella (Pallas, 1766).

The Commission has designated Actinia pedunculata Pennant, 1777 (currently Cereus pedunculatus; Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Actiniaria) as the type species of the genus Cereus Ilmoni, 1830, by setting aside the original type species Cereus cupreus Ilmoni, 1830, a nomen dubium not used since 1857 except in synonymy lists, and a member of the order Ceriantharia. The name Actinocereus Blainville, 1830 has been suppressed for the purposes of the Principle of Priority.

The Commission has conserved the specific name Geophilus linearis C.L. Koch, 1835 for a widespread European species of geophilomorph centipede currently referred to the genus Stenotaenia C.L. Koch, 1847 by suppressing the name Geophilus simplex Gervais, 1835. The Commission has not approved the proposed suppression of the name Geophilus forficularius Fanzago, 1881, a putative senior synonym of Geophilus sorrentina Attems, 1903.

The Commission has conserved the widely used generic name Oscinella Becker, 1909 (chloropidae) by giving it precedence over Melanochaeta Bezzi, 1906 and its objective synonym Pachychaetina Hendel, 1907 whenever these names are considered to be synonyms.