Categories between Family and Genus: Zoology only

[Barry Roth]

 In a phylogenetic taxonomy of the snail group Helminthoglyptidae,* I used suffixes -morpha, -aina, -otes, -ales, -phim, and -niki.  These did not designate any formal categories (the taxonomy was rank-free between the traditional levels of family and genus), but coordinate groups (i.e., the alternate branches of a dichotomy or trichotomy in the underlying phylogenetic tree) received the same suffix unless one of them was a genus.  I can't see that I would have gained anything by giving the various branching levels category labels such as "infratribe," and I explicitly disclaimed using formal ranks in that paper.
Shortly afterward, another malacologist showed me the draft of a work in which he had "normalized" one of the names (the only one with a generic stem not previously used in the traditional taxonomy of the group) into a family-group name (in the meaning of the ICZN) with me as the author.  Sigh!
"-idi" is cute, but when spoken might be confused with "-idae," no?
Barry Roth
*1996.  The Veliger, 39(1):18-42.
  christian thompson <cthompson at SEL.BARC.USDA.GOV> wrote: Zoologists ONLY.

The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature regulates the ending
(suffixes) of family-group names only for
Superfamily -oidea
Family -idae
Subfamily -inae
Tribe -ini
Subtribe -ina

(See Article 29.2)

I would like to know whether people use additional categories for
family-group names and what ending they used.

For example, my colleague (Ray Gagne) uses Supertribe (-idi). Does any one
use Infra-Family? If so, what ending does one use?

Etc.

Thanks


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