Higher-rank names treated as synonyms in the Catalogue of Life

Source: IUCN Red List 2026-1 vs Catalogue of Life COL26.7 XR (2026-07-17) · 717 rows

The table below lists higher-rank names (genus, family, order, or class) used in the IUCN classification that the Catalogue of Life records only as a synonym, never as an accepted name. The name CoL accepts instead is shown alongside, and the IUCN taxa column counts how many assessed taxa sit under the name.

Why it matters

A genus or family name that CoL treats entirely as a synonym is often an older spelling or a superseded name, and it affects every assessed taxon placed under it.

Suggestion

Check the accepted CoL name. Where it is a corrected spelling or an accepted replacement, one change to the higher-rank name updates the whole group at once.

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 this page	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	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	9
family	50
genus	657

Preview

IUCN name	Rank	CoL accepted name	CoL authority	CoL year	CoL entry	Kingdom	Phylum	IUCN taxa	Detail
UDEONYCHOPHORA	class	Onychophora	Grube, 1850	1850	view	ANIMALIA	ONYCHOPHORA	11	Catalogue of Life treats this class name as a synonym of Onychophora.
SCORPAENIFORMES	order	Scorpaenoidei			view	ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	725	Catalogue of Life treats this order name as a synonym of Scorpaenoidei.
BRASSICALES	order	Capparales	Juss. ex Bercht. & J.Presl		view	PLANTAE	TRACHEOPHYTA	693	Catalogue of Life treats this order name as a synonym of Capparales.
STEPHANOBERYCIFORMES	order	Stephanoberycoidei			view	ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	94	Catalogue of Life treats this order name as a synonym of Stephanoberycoidei.
ALCYONACEA	order	Octocorallia	Haeckel, 1866	1866	view	ANIMALIA	CNIDARIA	48	Catalogue of Life treats this order name as a synonym of Octocorallia.
CETOMIMIFORMES	order	Cetomimidae	Goode & Bean, 1895	1895	view	ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	35	Catalogue of Life treats this order name as a synonym of Cetomimidae.
GASTEROSTEIFORMES	order	Gasterosteoidei			view	ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	35	Catalogue of Life treats this order name as a synonym of Gasterosteoidei.
SACCOPHARYNGIFORMES	order	Anguilliformes			view	ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	33	Catalogue of Life treats this order name as a synonym of Anguilliformes.
LEPIDOSIRENIFORMES	order	Lepidosirenoidei			view	ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	18	Catalogue of Life treats this order name as a synonym of Lepidosirenoidei.
PENNATULACEA	order	Pennatuloidea	Ehrenberg, 1834	1834	view	ANIMALIA	CNIDARIA	18	Catalogue of Life treats this order name as a synonym of Pennatuloidea.
LEIOTRICHIDAE	family	Leiothrichidae	Swainson, 1832	1832	view	ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	139	Catalogue of Life treats this family name as a synonym of Leiothrichidae.
CICINDELIDAE	family	Carabidae	Latreille, 1802	1802	view	ANIMALIA	ARTHROPODA	129	Catalogue of Life treats this family name as a synonym of Carabidae.
HELMINTHOGLYPTIDAE	family	Helminthoglyptinae	Pilsbry, 1939	1939	view	ANIMALIA	MOLLUSCA	41	Catalogue of Life treats this family name as a synonym of Helminthoglyptinae.
ZIPHIIDAE	family	Hyperoodontidae	Gray, 1846	1846	view	ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	31	Catalogue of Life treats this family name as a synonym of Hyperoodontidae.
INDOTYPHLIDAE	family	Grandisoniidae	Lescure, Renous & Gasc, 1986	1986	view	ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	24	Catalogue of Life treats this family name as a synonym of Grandisoniidae.

Showing the first 15 of 717 rows. View the full list → Download CSV (717 rows)