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[Taxacom] Who should get the kudos?

John Grehan calabar.john at gmail.com
Thu Jan 3 12:06:32 CST 2019 

I would agree in general principle to the 'greater good' - whatever seems
most appropriate to the describer/s at the time. There is no rule book. I
have one case of naming a species after a collector who was not the
original collector of the specimen, but who received it from another
collector, but brought it to my attention. I noticed that some of the names
in the article were compound names. One of my colleagues has indicated to
me a disinclination for such as they are often long and multisyllabic,
increasing potential for misspellings and challenging pronunciation. But I
have done so in a couple of cases where it was a condition of the collector
to access and describe the specimens.
John Grehan

On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 12:58 PM Shorthouse, David <
davidpshorthouse at gmail.com> wrote:

> ...though to be sure, the children may not have been (and probably
> weren't) "collectors". The point here is that there is no formal
> credit system for collecting specimens. So, we might as well use the
> opportunity for a greater good whenever possible.
>
> David
>
> On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 12:54 PM Shorthouse, David
> <davidpshorthouse at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > George -
> >
> > There is no better example than bestowing credit to collectors than
> > this one: https://doi.org/10.3897/JHR.50.8220. Kudos to the team of
> > taxonomists that honoured all the children involved. "The new species
> > described...received patronyms based on the winners of a school child
> > nature awareness competition conducted by the Programa de Educación
> > Biológica de ACG in the last half of 2015".
> >
> > David
> >
> > On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 12:40 PM blaberus1 <g.beccaloni at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Perhaps I could ask: does anyone consider a collector to be the
> discoverer
> > > of a species if the collector did not realise it was new to science?
> The
> > > people I mentioned believe that it was Ali not Wallace who discovered
> > > Semioptera wallacii.
> > >
> > > Thanks!
> > >
> > > George
> > >
> > > On Thu, 3 Jan 2019 at 16:29, John Grehan <calabar.john at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > >
> > > > George,
> > > >
> > > > In my experience for the group of my study species have sometimes
> been
> > > > named for the collector, sometimes not. Seems to be a discretionary
> choice.
> > > > There seems to be no necessity for the Semioptera to have been named
> after
> > > > the collection. For the new species for which I have been involved
> with
> > > > none of the collectors who brought material to the attention of
> myself or
> > > > colleagues 'knew' in advance that they had a new species. I have
> found new
> > > > species in other groups and it would be absurd to expect that the
> species
> > > > should necessarily be named after me just because I found the
> specimens. I
> > > > think your critics are unfamiliar with normal taxonomic practice.
> I'll be
> > > > interested to what others on the list with broader experience have
> to say.
> > > >
> > > > John Grehan
> > > >
> > > > On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 11:18 AM blaberus1 <g.beccaloni at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > > >
> > > >> I have been debating with historians of science and others for a
> while now
> > > >> about who discovered Semioptera wallacii (Standardwing Bird of
> Paradise):
> > > >> –
> > > >> was it Alfred Russel Wallace or his assistant Ali? They are arguing
> it was
> > > >> Ali as he shot the first specimen – and they believe it is a great
> > > >> injustice it was named after Wallace (in fact I have been called
> “racist”
> > > >> for arguing against this point of view!).
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> Wallace wrote in his book *The Malay Archipelago* “Just as I got
> home I
> > > >> overtook Ali returning from shooting with some birds hanging from
> his
> > > >> belt.
> > > >> He seemed much pleased, and said, "Look here, sir, what a curious
> bird,"
> > > >> holding out what at first completely puzzled me. I saw a bird with
> a mass
> > > >> of splendid green feathers on its breast, elongated into two
> glittering
> > > >> tufts; but, what I could not understand was a pair of long white
> feathers,
> > > >> which stuck straight out from each shoulder. Ali assured me that
> the bird
> > > >> stuck them out this way itself, when fluttering its wings, and that
> they
> > > >> had remained so without his touching them. I now saw that I had got
> a
> > > >> great
> > > >> prize, no less than a completely new form of the Bird of Paradise,
> > > >> differing most remarkably from every other known bird.”
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> As a taxonomist my argument is that while Ali collected the first
> specimen
> > > >> he did not know it was a species new to Western taxonomy. We are
> talking
> > > >> about species new to SCIENCE, not simply new to Ali. Unlike
> Wallace, Ali
> > > >> was illiterate and was not a biologist/taxonomist. Wallace, however,
> > > >> thanks
> > > >> to his in-depth knowledge of the birds of the region, immediately
> > > >> recognised that it was a new species. He excitedly wrote to his
> agent
> > > >> Stevens:
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> "...I believe I have already the finest & most wonderful bird in the
> > > >> island
> > > >> [Bacan, Indonesia]. I had a good mind to keep it a secret but I
> cannot
> > > >> resist telling you, I have got here a new Bird of Paradise!! of a
> new
> > > >> genus!!! quite unlike anything yet known, very curious & very
> handsome!!!
> > > >> When I can get a couple of pairs I will send them overland to see
> what a
> > > >> new Bird of Paradise will really fetch. I expect £25 each! Had I
> seen the
> > > >> bird in Ternate I would never have believed it came from here, so
> far out
> > > >> of the hitherto supposed region of the Paradiseidae. I consider it
> the
> > > >> greatest discovery I have yet made..." (Wallace, 1858)
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> So Wallace clearly thought HE had discovered it.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> The species was named in Wallace’s honour by Gray in 1859 -
> > > >>
> > > >>
> http://wallace-online.org/content/frameset?pageseq=1&itemID=WSPEC017&viewtype=text
> > > >> based on a sketch which Wallace had sent.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> So my argument is that simply collecting a new species does not
> mean you
> > > >> discovered it – even if it is new to you personally. The discoverer
> is the
> > > >> person who realises it is a species not yet named by taxonomists.
> What do
> > > >> you think?
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> Incidentally, I note that none of 10 randomly selected species of
> > > >> cockroaches described in the last 10 years were named after the
> collectors
> > > >> of the holotypes of these species. Their names were, however,
> mentioned in
> > > >> the species descriptions, so they were credited for their efforts.
> > > >> Perhaps,
> > > >> however, some taxonomists do regularly name species after their
> > > >> collectors?
> > > >> Does anyone know whether this practice is commonly followed by
> taxonomists
> > > >> of particular groups?
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> Thanks!
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> George Beccaloni
> > > >> _______________________________________________
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> > > >>
> > > >> Nurturing Nuance while Assaulting Ambiguity for 31 Some Years,
> 1987-2018.
> > > >>
> > > >
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> > > Nurturing Nuance while Assaulting Ambiguity for 31 Some Years,
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>

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