Restoration of London type of first earthworm - Lumbricus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758 (Annelida: Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae), and setting aside of a 'neo-neotype'

umbricus terrestris was the first earthworm described by Carl Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae (1758). In a particularly well-reasoned and balanced scientific study, Sims (1973: 32) – the responsible curator at the then British Museum (Natural History) – made a cogent argument for stability of its nomenclature and designnated a neotype (BMNH Register No. 1973.1.1) since its original types are nonexistent. This nomenclatural act was supported by Gates (1973).