Higher-rank names placed differently in the Catalogue of Life
Source: IUCN Red List 2026-1 vs Catalogue of Life COL26.7 XR (2026-07-17) · 1,663 rows
The table below lists higher-rank names that the Catalogue of Life places under a genuinely different parent (a different order, class, or family), not just a different spelling of the same one. Only names within the same phylum are compared.
Why it matters
A different parent placement reflects a different higher classification between the two catalogues. Neither is necessarily wrong, but any grouping by order, class, or family will come out differently depending on which catalogue is followed.
Suggestion
Treat these as classification differences to be aware of rather than errors. Where a placement looks out of date, the CoL entry linked in each row shows the classification it currently uses.
The Catalogue of Life crosscheck
Every assessed name is checked against the Catalogue of Life; each difference found is listed on exactly one of the pages below.
| Page | Names | What it lists |
|---|---|---|
| Names not found in the Catalogue of Life | 745 | The name is absent from CoL: no near spelling, and no other name for the taxon either. |
| Names with a close Catalogue of Life match | 799 | The name is absent from CoL; a near spelling exists in the same genus or epithet. |
| Names absent from the Catalogue of Life where another name for the taxon is present | 134 | The name is absent from CoL; another IUCN-listed name for the taxon is there as a synonym. |
| Species and subspecies treated as synonyms in the Catalogue of Life | 11,664 | CoL treats the name as a synonym of an accepted name IUCN does not list. |
| Higher-rank names treated as synonyms in the Catalogue of Life | 717 | A genus or higher name CoL records only as a synonym. |
| Higher-rank placement differences that look like spelling variants | 94 | A higher taxon whose CoL parent name looks like a spelling variant of IUCN's. |
| Minor naming authority differences | 9,343 | Exact name match; the author is spelled differently. |
| Name pairs where IUCN and the Catalogue of Life differ on which name is accepted | 2,742 | Both catalogues hold both names and disagree only on which is accepted. |
| Higher-rank names placed differently in the Catalogue of Life this page | 1,663 | A higher taxon placed under a genuinely different CoL parent. |
By rank
Every row is in the CSV download.
| Rank | Count |
|---|---|
| class | 1 |
| order | 65 |
| family | 257 |
| genus | 1,340 |
Preview
| IUCN name | Rank | Rank compared | IUCN placement | CoL placement | CoL entry | Kingdom | Phylum | IUCN taxa | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHAEOPHYCEAE | class | phylum | HETEROKONTOPHYTA | Ochrophyta | view | CHROMISTA | HETEROKONTOPHYTA | 18 | IUCN places this class in phylum 'HETEROKONTOPHYTA'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Ochrophyta'. |
| PERCIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 6197 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
| CYPRINIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 4137 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
| SILURIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 3641 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
| GOBIIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 2348 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
| CHARACIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 2152 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
| CICHLIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 1739 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
| CYPRINODONTIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 1334 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
| ANGUILLIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 1062 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
| PLEURONECTIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 914 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
| OPHIDIIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 610 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
| STOMIIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 560 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
| CLUPEIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 510 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
| TETRAODONTIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 480 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
| LOPHIIFORMES | order | class | ACTINOPTERYGII | Teleostei | view | ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | 427 | IUCN places this order in class 'ACTINOPTERYGII'; Catalogue of Life places it in 'Teleostei'. |
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