@jwidness, I have been doing some comprehensive work on Carnivora the past few months, and during this comb-through @emmanueldolinhsan has requested we prioritize Proteles cristatus over P. cristata, citing the principals of the International Union of Zoological Nomenclature in a recently published manuscript authored by him and his peers (Werdelin et al. 2021). The full paper is behind a paywall, and if interested I am sure either Emmanuel or myself could email it to you, but the argument is basically in accordance with Article 31.2, which states epithets that are Latin adjectives "must agree in gender with the generic name with which it is at any time combined", and misinterpretation of Opinion 384. The origin of the masculine name "Proteles" was in a original description of the aardwolf as Proteles lalandii, after previously being described as "Viverra cristata". Because the epithet lalandii is not the valid name (as cristata has priority), some researchers "unaware of Article 31.2" have assumed the correct name must then be Proteles cristata despite Proteles being masculine and cristata being feminine (hopefully Emmanuel could elaborate further if I misinterpreted their article). This seems highly agreeable to me, and it is a change I am willing to make. Do you agree? Have any reservations?

Thanks a lot Bobby. Much appreciated! Yes, your interpretation of the situation/paper is correct.