The complex nomenclatoral situation around the nominate taxon Helix gaudryi A. d’Orbigny, 1839, caused by a mix-up of the occurrence of similar looking species fromLa Gomera and Gran Canaria, is clarified. The type locality La Gomera for Hemicycla gaudryi (d’Orbigny, 1839) is confirmed, and a lectotype is selected. As a consequence, the recently described Hemicycla idairae Verbinnen & Swinnen, 2014 from La Gomera is synonymized (syn. nov.). The earliest available name for the Hemicycla species from Gran Canaria is Helix ripochi J. Mabille, 1882. A number of taxa of Mabille described in 1883 from Gran Canaria are synonymized with Hemicycla ripochi: Helix amblasmodon, H. janthina, H. themera, H. zorgia (all syn. nov.). The Quaternary fossil Helix ledrui J. Mabille, 1883, formerly thought to belong to this complex, is synonymized with the subspecies Hemicycla psathyra bituminosa (J. Mabille, 1883) (syn. nov.). For the taxa Helix bituminosa and H. ripochi of Mabille, lectotypes are designated and figured.
Groh et al. (Fri,) studied this question.