Larus kamtschatschensis

Quick answer

Bonaparte (1857: 224) listed " Gavina hinc Larus kamtschatschensis Bp. " in the synonymy of Larus niveus Pallas. The name is thus not available for nomenclatural purposes (Art. 11.6 of the Code) and the provisions of Art. 11.6.1 of the Code do not apply, because the name was already published in earlier works (Bonaparte 1855: 16, 1856: 771). In spite of this, Bonaparte's (1857) kamtschatschensis was used as a valid name for the taxon in recent literature (see above for citations), probably following Peters (1934: 315, footnote) who argued that “ a quotation [of a name in the synonymy of an available name] ipso facto renders the name a substitute name for the species in whose synonymy it is quoted. His argument does not match provisions of the Code (ICZN 1999).