Biological taxonomy is a hypothesis regarding the evolutionary relationships of populations. Thus there is never an absolutely “correct” scientific name for any organism, although at any point in time there may a preferred name, and a series of names that have lost favor with the advance of science. Older, cast-off names become “synonyms.” A proliferation of synonyms is a healthy indicator of an active research interest in a group of organisms.

Synonyms may also be viewed negatively, however, as an impediment to law and regulation. For this reason, natural resource agencies generally favor standardized taxonomies, such as that offered for mollusks by Turgeon and colleagues (1998).  Although well meaning, efforts at taxonomic standardization are science-killers, and should be resisted.