Name pairs where IUCN and the Catalogue of Life differ on which name is accepted
Source: IUCN Red List 2026-1 vs Catalogue of Life COL26.7 XR (2026-07-17) · 2,742 rows
IUCN and the Catalogue of Life accept different names for each taxon on this page, and the IUCN record already lists the name CoL accepts among its synonyms. Some rows are mutual: CoL likewise treats the IUCN name as a synonym of its accepted name. In the others the name IUCN accepts appears nowhere in CoL, and the pairing rests on the IUCN synonym list alone. Either way the two records can be cross referenced, so nothing on this page is a missing name or a broken link.
Why it matters
Nothing on either side is wrong, and nothing here needs fixing. Two details are worth knowing. The link between each pair is the IUCN synonym list, which the Red List API publishes but the CSV export does not, so a match run against the export alone misses it. And a few rows give the same author two different publication years, one per catalogue; that can be a real bibliographic difference, as with a work issued in parts, or a transcription error. Those rows sort to the top of the table.
Suggestion
No change is suggested. The table works as a concordance between the two datasets, as the list of taxa that would change name if the Catalogue of Life treatment were adopted, and, where the Authority years column is filled, as a short checklist of publication dates the two catalogues disagree on.
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. Pages are ordered by how likely a row is to need a change.
| Page | Action | Names | Since 2025-2 | What it lists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Names with a close Catalogue of Life match | Fix by hand | 799 | Not in CoL under this name; a near spelling is, in the same genus or with the same epithet. | |
| Names not in the Catalogue of Life, but an IUCN synonym is | Fix by hand | 134 | Not in CoL under this name; one of the taxon's IUCN synonyms is there as a synonym. | |
| Species and subspecies treated as synonyms in the Catalogue of Life | Decide policy | 11,664 | CoL treats the name as a synonym of an accepted name that IUCN does not list. | |
| Higher-rank names treated as synonyms in the Catalogue of Life | Fix by hand | 717 | A genus, family, order, or class name that CoL records only as a synonym. | |
| Parent taxon spelled differently in the Catalogue of Life | Fix by hand | 94 | Same parent taxon in both, spelled slightly differently. | |
| Name pairs where IUCN and the Catalogue of Life differ on which name is accepted this page | No action | 2,742 | Both catalogues hold both names and disagree only on which is accepted. | |
| Higher-rank names placed under a different parent in the Catalogue of Life | No action | 1,663 | CoL places the name under a different order, class, or family. | |
| Appendix | ||||
| Names not in the Catalogue of Life, but a Wikidata or Wikipedia name is | Fix by hand | 23 | Not in CoL under this name or an IUCN synonym; Wikidata or Wikipedia give a name CoL has. | |
| Author names spelled differently | Fix by hand | 9,343 | Same name in both; the author is spelled slightly differently. | |
| Names not in the Catalogue of Life under any known name | No action | 722 | Not in CoL under this name, a near spelling, or any other name known for the taxon. | |
By rank
Every row is in the CSV download.
| Rank | Count |
|---|---|
| species | 2,613 |
| subspecies | 110 |
| variety | 19 |
Groups: Plants (1,025), Fish (717), Insects (326), Birds (195), Mammals (141), Amphibians (116), Molluscs (111), Other invertebrates (55), Reptiles (18), Fungi (18), Crustaceans (7), Arachnids (6), Corals (6), Algae (1) 197,008 assessments compared.
Preview
| IUCN name | IUCN authority | IUCN status | CoL name | CoL authority | Authority years | CoL entry | Group | Taxon id | Red List | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mops pumilus | (Cretzschmar, 1830) | LC | Chaerephon pumilus | (Cretzschmar, 1826) | IUCN 1830 vs CoL 1826 | view | Mammals: Bats | 67362271 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Mops pumilus as a synonym of Chaerephon pumilus; IUCN treats Chaerephon pumilus as a synonym of Mops pumilus. Both credit Cretzschmar, but the years differ: 1830 in IUCN, 1826 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Edolisoma mindanense | (Tweeddale, 1878) | VU | Coracina mindanensis | (Tweeddale, 1879) | IUCN 1878 vs CoL 1879 | view | Birds | 22706596 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Edolisoma mindanense as a synonym of Coracina mindanensis; IUCN treats Coracina mindanensis as a synonym of Edolisoma mindanense. Both credit Tweeddale, but the years differ: 1878 in IUCN, 1879 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Edolisoma sula | Hartert, 1917 | LC | Coracina sula | (Hartert, 1918) | IUCN 1917 vs CoL 1918 | view | Birds | 22706588 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Edolisoma sula as a synonym of Coracina sula; IUCN treats Coracina sula as a synonym of Edolisoma sula. Both credit Hartert, but the years differ: 1917 in IUCN, 1918 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Lalage polioptera | (Sharpe, 1879) | LC | Coracina polioptera | (Sharpe, 1878) | IUCN 1879 vs CoL 1878 | view | Birds | 22706633 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Lalage polioptera as a synonym of Coracina polioptera; IUCN treats Coracina polioptera as a synonym of Lalage polioptera. Both credit Sharpe, but the years differ: 1879 in IUCN, 1878 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Plesiodryas albonotata | (Salvadori, 1876) | LC | Poecilodryas albonotata | (Salvadori, 1875) | IUCN 1876 vs CoL 1875 | view | Birds | 22704883 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Plesiodryas albonotata as a synonym of Poecilodryas albonotata; IUCN treats Poecilodryas albonotata as a synonym of Plesiodryas albonotata. Both credit Salvadori, but the years differ: 1876 in IUCN, 1875 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Tangara glaucocolpa | Cabanis, 1850 | LC | Thraupis glaucocolpa | Cabanis, 1851 | IUCN 1850 vs CoL 1851 | view | Birds | 22722531 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Tangara glaucocolpa as a synonym of Thraupis glaucocolpa; IUCN treats Thraupis glaucocolpa as a synonym of Tangara glaucocolpa. Both credit Cabanis, but the years differ: 1850 in IUCN, 1851 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Pachysylvia aurantiifrons | (Lawrence, 1862) | LC | Hylophilus aurantiifrons | Lawrence, 1861 | IUCN 1862 vs CoL 1861 | view | Birds | 22705309 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Pachysylvia aurantiifrons as a synonym of Hylophilus aurantiifrons; IUCN treats Hylophilus aurantiifrons as a synonym of Pachysylvia aurantiifrons. Both credit Lawrence, but the years differ: 1862 in IUCN, 1861 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Pogonornis bidentatus | (Shaw, 1798) | LC | Lybius bidentatus | (Shaw, 1799) | IUCN 1798 vs CoL 1799 | view | Birds | 22681861 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Pogonornis bidentatus as a synonym of Lybius bidentatus; IUCN treats Lybius bidentatus as a synonym of Pogonornis bidentatus. Both credit Shaw, but the years differ: 1798 in IUCN, 1799 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Hylatomus schulzii | (Cabanis, 1883) | NT | Dryocopus schulzii | (Cabanis, 1882) | IUCN 1883 vs CoL 1882 | view | Birds | 22681373 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Hylatomus schulzii as a synonym of Dryocopus schulzii; IUCN treats Dryocopus schulzii as a synonym of Hylatomus schulzii. Both credit Cabanis, but the years differ: 1883 in IUCN, 1882 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Ciccaba virgata | (Cassin, 1850) | LC | Strix virgata | (Cassin, 1849) | IUCN 1850 vs CoL 1849 | view | Birds | 22689122 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Ciccaba virgata as a synonym of Strix virgata; IUCN treats Strix virgata as a synonym of Ciccaba virgata. Both credit Cassin, but the years differ: 1850 in IUCN, 1849 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Megophrys glandulosa | Fei, Ye & Huang, 1991 | LC | Xenophrys glandulosa | (Fei, Ye & Huang, 1990) | IUCN 1991 vs CoL 1990 | view | Amphibians: Frogs and toads | 57638 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Megophrys glandulosa as a synonym of Xenophrys glandulosa; IUCN treats Xenophrys glandulosa as a synonym of Megophrys glandulosa. Both credit Fei, Ye & Huang, but the years differ: 1991 in IUCN, 1990 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Litoria aurea | (Lesson, 1830) | NT | Ranoidea aurea | (Lesson, 1829) | IUCN 1830 vs CoL 1829 | view | Amphibians: Frogs and toads | 12143 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Litoria aurea as a synonym of Ranoidea aurea; IUCN treats Ranoidea aurea as a synonym of Litoria aurea. Both credit Lesson, but the years differ: 1830 in IUCN, 1829 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Papurana papua | (Lesson, 1826) | LC | Hylarana papua | (Lesson, 1829) | IUCN 1826 vs CoL 1829 | view | Amphibians: Frogs and toads | 58691 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Papurana papua as a synonym of Hylarana papua; IUCN treats Hylarana papua as a synonym of Papurana papua. Both credit Lesson, but the years differ: 1826 in IUCN, 1829 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Pulchrana baramica | (Boettger, 1901) | LC | Hylarana baramica | (Boettger, 1900) | IUCN 1901 vs CoL 1900 | view | Amphibians: Frogs and toads | 58558 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Pulchrana baramica as a synonym of Hylarana baramica; IUCN treats Hylarana baramica as a synonym of Pulchrana baramica. Both credit Boettger, but the years differ: 1901 in IUCN, 1900 in the Catalogue of Life. |
| Schizopygopsis microcephalus | Herzenstein, 1881 | LC | Herzensteinia microcephalus | (Herzenstein, 1891) | IUCN 1881 vs CoL 1891 | view | Fish: Ray-finned fishes | 181240 | view | The Catalogue of Life treats Schizopygopsis microcephalus as a synonym of Herzensteinia microcephalus; IUCN treats Herzensteinia microcephalus as a synonym of Schizopygopsis microcephalus. Both credit Herzenstein, but the years differ: 1881 in IUCN, 1891 in the Catalogue of Life. |
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