Question Answered!

[Richard Pyle]

I already have my answer (gotta love the responsiveness of email).  Yes,
there are cases with >256 "valid" taxon names within a parent taxon name,
without routinely-utilized intermediate names (I had guessed as much, but
couldn't find any specific examples on my own).  Many thanks to those who
responded to me privately so promptly. Sorry to everyone else for the
bandwidth.

Aloha,
Rich