[Taxacom] Validity of species/subspecies

[David Campbell]

Yes, for animals U. antiqua would be the nomenclaturally correct name,
unless it happens to be a junior homonym or otherwise invalid.  Names that
were proposed as subspecies (and older names that were not clearly proposed
to be something lower than a subspecies) are regarded as species-level
names and have priority over later-proposed names at the species or
subspecies rank.  Similarly, a name originally proposed as a subgenus has
priority over a later name proposed as a genus.

As a more complex situation,  I have what seems to be a case where an early
author decided that a proposed new genus and species really belonged in an
existing genus and so demoted the genus name to a species name, dropping
the original species.  Does this constitute creating a new species name?
Does anyone have examples of this to show that it was occasionally
practiced?



On Thu, Apr 10, 2014 at 3:39 AM, Javier Luque <javierluquec at gmail.com>wrote:

> Dear Stephen, Cristian, Ayhan, Jim, and Taxacomers,
>
> Many thanks for your responses.  The organisms in question are fiddler
> crabs. The fossil taxon is *Uca maracoani antiqua* Brito, 1972.  In 2001,
> Martins-Neto proposed that the fossil species was different enough from the
> extant *U. maracoani,* and called it *Uca inaciobritoi*.  Nevertheless,
> several authors in recent years have referred to the fossil taxon as *U.
> antiqua*, but have referred to *U. inaciobritoi* as a different species,
> and unnoticed that both are based on the same type specimens.  For this
> reason I wondered if *U. inaciobritoi* would be valid, or if it would
> rather be a junior synonym of *U. antiqua*.
>
> Kind regards,
> Javier
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Apr 10, 2014 at 1:09 AM, Stephen Thorpe
> <stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz>wrote:
>
> > It would be safest to see the actual example. There could be complicating
> > factors (e.g. if zz is a junior homonym, unnoticed until upgraded to
> > species)
> > Cheers,
> > Stephen
> >
> > --------------------------------------------
> > On Thu, 10/4/14, Javier Luque <javierluquec at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >  Subject: [Taxacom] Validity of species/subspecies
> >  To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
> >  Received: Thursday, 10 April, 2014, 6:20 AM
> >
> >  Dear Taxacomers,
> >
> >  A quick question. Imagine two subspecies: the extant *Xx xx
> >  xx, *and the
> >  fossil *Xx xx yy*.  Someone proposed that the fossil
> >  subspecies was
> >  different enough from species *Xx xx* to deserve full
> >  specific status, and
> >  therefore named it *Xx zz**.  *Note that, instead of
> >  elevating subspecies *Xx
> >  xx yy* to the species rank (i.e. *Xx yy*), the author gave
> >  it a new
> >  specific epithet (i.e. *Xx zz*).  Here is the question:
> >  is *Xx zz *a valid
> >  species?  Or should the subspecies *yy* have priority
> >  as the specific
> >  epithet?
> >
> >  Thanks for your time and help.
> >
> >  Kind regards,
> >  Javier
> >
> >  --
> >  Javier Luque, Ph.D Student
> >  Systematics and Evolution Group
> >  Department of Biological Sciences
> >  University of Alberta
> >  Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada
> >
> >  Center for Tropical Paleoecology and Archaeology
> >  Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
> >  Balboa-Anc?n, Panama
> >  Apartado 0843-03092
> >
> >  P Please consider the environment before printing this
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> >
> >
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-- 
Dr. David Campbell
Assistant Professor, Geology
Department of Natural Sciences
Box 7270
Gardner-Webb University
Boiling Springs NC 28017