>>Frank Burbrink, who made these changes, did not recognize the genus Pantherophis. So names like "Pantherophis allegheniensis" and "Pantherophis spiloides" have never been formally proposed, to my knowledge. In deciding on legitimate names here, then, you can either accept Burbrink's species, or accept Pantherophis, but not both.

Not quit true, you can in fact accept both. If you agree with Utiger et al. that Elaphe in its traditional broad sense is non-monophyletic and needs splitting, then the correct generic name for the group is Pantherophis, irrespective of whether you accept Burbrink's species arrangement, and irrespective of whether Burbrink accepted them (I dimly recall that his papers predated the general Elaphe rejigging). Using the combination Pantherophis alleghaniensis is simply the logical outcome of accepting the biological conclusions of both Utiger's and Burbrink's work, and does not require any specific proposal, although in a taxonomic work, the new combo would be highlighted in some way.

Cheers,

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