[Taxacom] Formation of family names e.g. Diplogasteridae vs. Diplogastridae in Nematoda (and similar)

[Doug Yanega]

On 11/2/15 1:57 PM, Tony Rees wrote:
> Doug and Stephen, I did a quick check using Google Scholar and came up 
> with the following result:
>
> 1850-2000 papers: Diplogasteridae 398, Diplogastridae 62
>
> 2001-2015 papers (out of scope for ICZN "prevailing usage" 
> consideration): Diplogasteridae 459, Diplogastridae 427
>
> Thus although it appears that usage of the form "Diplogastridae" has 
> been gaining ground, this is incorrect so far as the Code is concerned 
> and the version "Diplogasteridae" is the Code-sanctioned one.
>
The Code specifies that what one counts is authors, not papers. Googling 
is not the best way to assess this metric, therefore. Think about it and 
you'll see the logic: one author could flood the literature with dozens 
of papers using the spelling they personally prefer, and thereby "win" 
if all the other experts published only one paper apiece.

Peace,

-- 
Doug Yanega      Dept. of Entomology       Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314     skype: dyanega
phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
              http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html
   "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
         is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82