William Ride and Robert W. Taylor in 1973, and the ant was now known as M. maxima. Under the present classification, M. maxima is a member of the subfamily Myrmeciinae. This subfamily is a member of the family Formicidae, belonging to the order Hymenoptera. As Moore collected no type specimen, M. maxima cannot be properly identified or be placed into any Myrmecia species group. Despite this, M. maxima is still treated as a valid species. The name Formica maxima is only regarded in both editions of Moore's book and two publications written by Rosendo Salvado, a Spanish missionary. In these editions, only its name referred to by the Western Australian Aborigines was mentioned. Due to this and Moore's description that identifies an unknown Myrmecia ant, Taylor and Ride requested that the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) should suppress the name in correlation with the Law of Priority and not the Law of Homonymy. They also proposed that the name should be added to the Index of Rejected and Invalid Specific Names and not be used as a valid name for M. maxima. By 1976, members of the ICZN voted in favour of suppressing the name under plenary powers. If scientists managed to identify M. maxima and a neotype selected in relation to its geographical presence and the only known description provided, the ant may be a senior synonym of M. nigriceps, M. regularis or M. vindex. This is because the taxon name was described much earlier than the three species, and it would have priority in accordance to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. The taxon M. vindex basirufa was a candidate for neotype selection due to the misunderstood and troublesome taxonomic history of M. vindex and M. vindex basirufa, but this taxon was synonymised in 1991. References External links Myrmecia maxima in the Catalogue of Life Myrmeciinae Hymenoptera of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Insects described in 1842 Insects of Australia