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Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 15:42:46 -0400 (EDT)
From: NJPharris@aol.com
To: tmk@dinosauricon.com, dinosaur@usc.edu
Cc: PhyloCode@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu
Subject: Re: T-J Extinction event article (more media errors?)
--Boundary_(ID_cFZnSgvwp0ez/CtW/f6Oog) Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 5/14/01 7:18:08 PM Pacific Daylight Time, tmk@dinosauricon.com writes: > > Right now, if I want to establish a taxonomic name, all I have to do is > > publish it in a publication, which is suitably defined under the ICZN. I > > don't have to "register" it anywhere. Under the PhyloCode, the name would > > >have< to be "submitted" to the database. That right there strikes me as > > irksome. > > But less irksome in the long run. It would be far easier to check for > preoccupied names, to look up particulars on any given name, etc. And > registration is not a mammoth task, anyway. You go to a webpage and fill > With instant arbitration over whether a name has been properly published or not, and an authoritative declaration that the name is now available for use--something I should think George would appreciate, given the problems he has had in the past getting his names recognized. What bothers me more is the unamendable definitions PhyloCode would introduce (if I understand it correctly). Say, for instance, I have two genera, A and B, and I determine on the basis of current evidence that they are sister taxa, so I define each as a stem-based taxon opposed to the other: Genus A={type of A > type of B} Genus B={type of B > type of A} Now say I go out and dig up weird-ass critter C, which, on the basis of certain shared characters, I am able to determine is more closely related to the type specimen of A than it is to the type of B. Under the current system, I can give weird-ass critter C a new generic name, to reflect its weird-assedness, and represent its proximity to A on a phylogenetic tree. But if Genus A has already been *defined* as all organisms closer to the type of A than to the type of B, and this definition cannot be amended, then I am *forced* to place C in genus A, and I feel this goes against the spirit of a genus. Basically, I think the flexibility currently present at the genus level needs to be preserved, so perhaps PhyloCode should only apply to suprageneric taxa. What, then, is a genus? Well, maybe it can just be defined as the first part of the binomial. --Nick P. --Boundary_(ID_cFZnSgvwp0ez/CtW/f6Oog) Content-type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit <HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>In a message dated 5/14/01 7:18:08 PM Pacific Daylight Time, <BR>tmk@dinosauricon.com writes: <BR> <BR> <BR><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">> Right now, if I want to establish a taxonomic name, all I have to do is <BR>> publish it in a publication, which is suitably defined under the ICZN. I <BR>> don't have to "register" it anywhere. Under the PhyloCode, the name would <BR>> >have< to be "submitted" to the database. That right there strikes me as <BR>> irksome. <BR> <BR>But less irksome in the long run. It would be far easier to check for <BR>preoccupied names, to look up particulars on any given name, etc. And <BR>registration is not a mammoth task, anyway. You go to a webpage and fill <BR>out a few forms. It'd take you about 5-15 minutes per taxon</BLOCKQUOTE> <BR> <BR>With instant arbitration over whether a name has been properly published or <BR>not, and an authoritative declaration that the name is now available for <BR>use--something I should think George would appreciate, given the problems he <BR>has had in the past getting his names recognized. <BR> <BR>What bothers me more is the unamendable definitions PhyloCode would introduce <BR>(if I understand it correctly). Say, for instance, I have two genera, A and <BR>B, and I determine on the basis of current evidence that they are sister <BR>taxa, so I define each as a stem-based taxon opposed to the other: <BR> <BR>Genus A={type of A > type of B} <BR>Genus B={type of B > type of A} <BR> <BR>Now say I go out and dig up weird-ass critter C, which, on the basis of <BR>certain shared characters, I am able to determine is more closely related to <BR>the type specimen of A than it is to the type of B. <BR> <BR>Under the current system, I can give weird-ass critter C a new generic name, <BR>to reflect its weird-assedness, and represent its proximity to A on a <BR>phylogenetic tree. But if Genus A has already been *defined* as all <BR>organisms closer to the type of A than to the type of B, and this definition <BR>cannot be amended, then I am *forced* to place C in genus A, and I feel this <BR>goes against the spirit of a genus. <BR> <BR>Basically, I think the flexibility currently present at the genus level needs <BR>to be preserved, so perhaps PhyloCode should only apply to suprageneric taxa. <BR> What, then, is a genus? Well, maybe it can just be defined as the first <BR>part of the binomial. <BR> <BR>--Nick P.</FONT></HTML> --Boundary_(ID_cFZnSgvwp0ez/CtW/f6Oog)--