Citation: Rivas, J.A.; Terra, J.S.; Roosen, M.; Champagne, P.S.; Leite-Pitman, R.; De La Quintana, P.; Mancuso, M.; Pacheco, L.F.; Burghardt, G.M.; Vonk, F.J.; et al. Description of the Northern Green Anaconda (Eunectes akayima sp. nov. Serpentes; Boidae): What Is in a Name? Diversity 2024, 16, 418. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16070418 Academic Editors: Michael Wink, Manuel Elias-Gutierrez and Jessica Frigerio Received: 20 May 2024 Revised: 6 July 2024 Accepted: 9 July 2024 Published: 18 July 2024 Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). diversity Article Description of the Northern Green Anaconda (Eunectes akayima sp. nov. Serpentes; Boidae): What Is in a Name? † Jesús A. Rivas 1, * , Juliana S. Terra 2 , Marijn Roosen 3 , Patrick S. Champagne 4 , Renata Leite-Pitman 5 , Paola De La Quintana 6,7 , Marco Mancuso 8 , Luis F. Pacheco 9 , Gordon M. Burghardt 10 , Freek J. Vonk 11,12 , Juán Elías García-Pérez 13 , Bryan G. Fry 8, * and Sarah Corey-Rivas 1, * 1 Biology Department, New Mexico Highlands University, 1005 Diamond Av., Las Vegas, NM 87701, USA 2 Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Fundação Neotrópica do Brasil, R. Clóvis Cintra 711, Bonito 79290-000, Brazil; terraju@gmail.com 3 Natural History Museum Rotterdam, Westzeedijk 345, 3015 AA Rotterdam, The Netherlands; marijn.roosen@gmail.com 4 Biology Department, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS B4P 2R6, Canada; patrickchampgne@gmail.com 5 Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, CA 27708, USA; renata.leite.pitman@gmail.com 6 Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Jorge Amado, Km 16, Ilhéus 45662-900, Brazil; paola.d.c.1186@gmail.com 7 Red de Investigadores en Herpetología-Bolivia, La Paz P.O. Box 10077, Bolivia 8 Adaptive Biotoxicology Laboratory, School of the Environment, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; 19marcomancuso19@gmail.com 9 Colección Boliviana de Fauna, Instituto de Ecología Carrera de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Puras y Naturales, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz P.O. Box 10077, Bolivia; luisfpachecoa@gmail.com 10 Departments of Psychology and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA; gburghar@utk.edu 11 Naturalis Biodiversity Center, 2333 CR Leiden, The Netherlands; freek@studiofreek.nl 12 Division of BioAnalytical Chemistry, Amsterdam Institute of Molecular and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands 13 Museo de Zoología, Programa CAM, Universidad Nacional Experimental de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, UNELLEZ, Guanare 3350, Portuguesa, Venezuela; ecologia2unellez@gmail.com * Correspondence: rivas@nmhu.edu (J.A.R.); bgfry@uq.edu.au (B.G.F.); sjcorey@nmhu.edu (S.C.-R.); Tel.: +1(505)-454-3292 (J.A.R.); Fax: +1(505)-454-3103 (J.A.R.) † LSID urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F47FAF30-3601-47A7-B9EC-0D9359D23DBB. LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:004D5E05-D3D5-4685-BC7D-E82088E31FCD. Abstract: While elucidating the evolutionary trajectory of green anacondas, we previously documented the existence of two distinct species, Eunectes akayima sp. nov. and Eunectes murinus (Linnaeus, 1758), that separated approximately 10 million years ago. Our research integrates a novel molecular clock approach, focuses on tectonic plate movements with fossil records as minimal chronological markers, and offers a refined understanding of speciation events in relation to major biogeographical occurrences in South America. Mitochondrial DNA analysis demonstrates a significant genetic divergence between the species, which is supported by a notable difference in sexual size dimorphism (SSD) intensity between the two species, along with other morphological differences. This paper also rectifies earlier oversights in the description of the new species and clarifies taxonomic ambiguities in compliance with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (henceforth ICZN). In addition, we designate a neotype for E. murinus to stabilize the group. In an effort to honor Indigenous nations, E. akayima sp. nov. derives its name from the Carib language, advocating for the inclusion of traditional names in scientific discourse. Our paper not only contributes to the taxonomic stability of anacondas but also advocates for the usage of Indigenous names in zoological nomenclature by adopting a more inclusive and flexible approach to the ICZN and eliminating unintended exclusionary practices that we have inherited in science as in other disciplines. Keywords: cryptic diversity; Boidae; South America; Llanos; Pebas system; Orinoco basin; redundant species Diversity 2024, 16, 418. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16070418 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/diversity