[Taxacom] Sale: immortal names

[John Epler]

Not all of us suckle at the State teat.  Nobody pays for my taxonomy
research except yours truly.

I was asked to describe a species from a Nature Conservancy refuge.  The
Conservancy held an auction; they passed that money on to me.  It was a
pittance compared to what I might have received had I charged an hourly
rate. But then - who's going to pay me to describe a species?

The fly got its name - and perhaps that will help conserve the unique
locality where it was found (apparently the only place in the world where it
exists), and the lady who "bought" the name had it named for her sister and
cousin.


> Date: Sun, 5 Jul 2015 16:22:29 -0700
From: Dean Pentcheff
> <pentcheff at gmail.com>
To: "taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu"
> <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Sale: immortal
> names
Message-ID:

> <CAKMaq6Fa4za=egrdrmoeBeDtF9GfPtAp8HV5WaV5xyFOxU2T1w at mail.gmail.com>
Content-T
> ype: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

I work in a museum lab where we did, in fact,
> auction off naming rights for
an invertebrate species. The funds received
> payed for several years of
work-study funding for a university undergraduate
> (including writing and
publishing the species description). That undergraduate
> ended up taking a
permanent job in the museum as an assistant collections
> manager, and spends
part of his time publishing in invertebrate
> systematics.

Using this example, please explain the reasoning for a blanket
> prohibition
on the sale of nomina honorifica.

-Dean
-- 
Dean
> Pentcheff
pentcheff at gmail.com





--
John H. Epler, Ph.D.
Aquatic Entomologist
Tiger Hammock Road, just south of Wakulla Springs in north Florida
Interested in chironomid midges, water beetles or water bugs?
Please check out my site at:
http://home.comcast.net/~johnepler3/index.html

"Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que les esprits
préparés."