[Taxacom] Minimum standards for e-voucher documentation (was Provisions to the Code)

[Schindel, David]

The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) is leading the Barcode of Wildlife Project on endangered species.  We will be grappling with the issue of what minimum documentation should be required for occurrence records and BARCODE records in GenBank when there is no traditional voucher specimen (e.g., dead animal bones and skin or a herbarium sheet).  This has special significance in the project which is constructing a reference library of barcode records in GenBank that will be used to identify the species of organisms involved in the investigation and prosecution of wildlife crime.  We're all familiar with circumstances in which a traditional voucher specimen is either impractical (e.g., endangered whales or other large species) or illegal (endangered/protected species).  There was a small literature on 'e-vouchers' a few years ago but as far as I know, it never evolved to the level of a proposed standard for documentation.

This is related to the ongoing thread about holotypes but I stress that we are not trying to erect new species without a traditional type specimen.  Rather, we want to provide a credible way for someone to verify the species identification of a specimen with a GenBank record when there is no traditional voucher.  Tissue samples, photographs, geolocation, measurements and environmental context data are the obvious elements in such a standard.  Do any of you know of an effort to formalize these minimum information standards?

Thanks and regards,

David Schindel

-----Original Message-----
From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of laurent raty
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 6:23 AM
To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] [iczn-list] provisions to the Code

- "Physical specimen" is not a term regulated by the ICZN. In fact, the 
word "physical" appears exactly zero times in the entire text of the 
Code; and given the definition of "specimen" there, an "un-physical 
specimen" (Stephen used the word "ghost" recently) seems to be an 
impossibility. Specimens are always physical, or they would be no specimens.

- What comes closest in the ICZN to what some seem to call "physical 
specimen" is "extant specimen" ("sp?cimens qui existent toujours" in the 
French text).

- For names published after 1999, Art.16.4.2 gives explicit additional 
requirements for availability in the special case where the holotype or 
syntypes are extant specimens. As this is clearly treated as a special 
case, it is obvious that having extant specimens as types cannot be 
understood as a general requirement for all species-group names 
published after 1999.

- Again, it is a complete misreading to pretend that:
"73.1.4. Designation of an illustration of a single specimen as a 
holotype is to be treated as designation of the specimen illustrated; 
the fact that the specimen no longer exists or cannot be traced does not 
of itself invalidate the designation."
...introduces an exception to a general "rule" that would say that a 
holotype must be an extant specimen. Should such a "rule" exist, this 
article would actually not allow any exception to it: the designation of 
the illustrated specimen would be allowed only if the specimen is 
extant; the designation of the illustration would have to be treated as 
the designation of the specimen; thus, should the specimen not be 
extant, the designation of the illustration would not be allowed.

The truth is that there is NO such rule in the Code.

My two cents,
Laurent -






On 04/16/2014 09:48 AM, Paul van Rijckevorsel wrote:
> From: "Weakley, Alan" <weakley at bio.unc.edu>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 1:38 AM
>
>> Hi all:  here is the current code for algae, fungi, and plants
>> (https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v1/url?u=http://www.iapt-taxon.org/nomen/main.php?page%3Dtitle&k=diZKtJPqj4jWksRIF4bjkw%3D%3D%0A&r”xk%2BkvyzF5zfdS9tDhVEg%3D%3D%0A&m=BWWddgspb8VyrOJmwD7URzKSH%2BOlLYhcK7fpJhBFDHo%3D%0A&sá234d69e54d95922d340300d45e3d1719a2e98c46bb13d43b448028992f9e95)
>
>> Bottom line:  after 2007, physical specimen only (exceptions as noted
>> below).
>
> ***
> This is not particularly accurate. Illustrations may be
> types, and the date of 1 January 2007 does not change
> that; such illustrations as were types before that date will
> continue to be so after that date. And new designations
> of illustrations as types may still be made after that date.
>
> What has changed with 1 January is that names of new
> species or new infraspecific taxa may not have an
> illustration as a type (exceptions excepted).
>
> Paul
>
>
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Celebrating 27 years of Taxacom in 2014.