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Date: Fri, 06 Feb 2004 08:43:13 -0500
From: "Moore, Gerry" <gerrymoore@bbg.org>
To: Philip Cantino <cantino@ohiou.edu>, phylocode@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu
Subject: RE: a comment on ancestor
>Igor Ya. Pavlinov: To me, it means that Phylocode pretends to regulate not only naming but=20 >also recognizing taxa: it is explicetly stated in the preamble and=20 >implicetly follows from presumed allocation procedure. Thus Phylocode=20 >becomes ideological instrument to supress all who disagree with=20 >cladistic principles. Phil Cantino: The PhyloCode is designed to name clades. It is therefore unlikely to be adopted by anyone who does not agree with cladistic principles. Its rules could be used to give explicit definitions to the names of paraphyletic or even polyphyletic groups, but I think it is unlikely anyone would choose to use it this way. I don't agree that the PhyloCode could be used to give explicit definitions to names of non-monophyletic taxa. This assertion has also found it way in print by Kevin and Phil (Taxon 50: 821-826. 2001): "First it should be noted that although the PhyloCode is designed to name clades, it does not expressly prohibit the naming of paraphyletic groups." The first article (1.1) in the PhyloCode "only clade names are governed by this code." And the next article (2.1) defines clade as "an ancestor and all of its descendents." Given this, any name given a definition that identifies a non-monophyletic group would have no standing under the PhyloCode. Arts. 11.9, 11.10 also make it clear that names that do not identify a clade in the context of a given phylogeny are not to be used. The PhyloCode may not expressly prohibit the naming of non-monophyletic taxa but it is pretty clear they are prohibited nonetheless. A code that uses explicit definitions could be written so that it permits the naming of non-monophyletic taxa but the PhyloCode is not written this way. Gerry Moore=20 Gerry Moore Research Taxonomist Brooklyn Botanic Garden 1000 Washington Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11225-1008 718-623-7332=20