Cuniculus hernandezi

Cuniculus hernandezi is a name coined for a proposed species of paca described as an endemic to the Central Andes in Colombia, the only place it has been identified as such to date. Individuals may weigh over 14 pounds (6.4 kg), making C. hernandezi a rather large rodent. The authors omitted a description of the animal, but it is thought to be very similar to the mountain paca, C. taczanowskii, from which this taxon was split. According to the authors, analysis of its mitochondrial DNA and karyotypy indicated that it may be a distinct species.[1] The specific epithet honours Colombian biologist Dr. Jorge Hernández Camacho.[2]

Cuniculus hernandezi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cuniculidae
Genus:	Cuniculus
Species:	C. hernandezi
Binomial name
Cuniculus hernandezi Castro, López & Becerra, 2010

Héctor Ramírez-Chaves and Sergio Solari, in 2014, argued that the species is not an available name (nomen nudum) according to the rules of the current International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), due to imprecise definition of the taxon and lack of a type specimen. Not only is the taxonomy blundered; the original research also used a faulty methodology with limited data to obtain their genetic tree, omitted to publish important results validating (or not) their conclusions, neglected a study of the availability of previously proposed names for pacas found in the region (old synonyms; i.e. C. serriae in Colombia and Venezuela), and presented no evidence with which to identify the taxon (even the illustrations lack identifications). Although the authors claim that the taxon is easily differentiated by the size of the interparietal bone, they then mention that morphological measurements cannot distinguish the taxon, nor do they provide any evidence to back these assertions. Furthermore, no evidence was presented restricting the taxon to the central Cordilleras.[3]