[Taxacom] PhyloCode

Sun Jun 13 08:34:17 CDT 2021

Yes, but also the Phylocode ended up being something less ambitious and
extensive, compared to the original plan (see their failure on species
names) which is criticized by Nixon et al.

We need to realize what the PhyloCode is and is not, and treat it
accordingly.

PC, for example, started with the promise of abolishing mandatory ranks and
ended up having more mandatory ranks than the ICZN (species and genera are
indirectly accepted in PC, and then they also have crown and panstem
"ranks" as well).

Today, the PhyloCode is nothing more than a parallel and additional
citation system to boost the citations of their authors in two ways: 1)
authors of previously established family group names are changed to the
Phylocode authors who defined (NOT named) that taxon in a phylogeny, and 2)
have elevated authority of definitions as an additional citation next to
taxonomic names. And if you count emanations, a PhyloCode name could have
up to three authorship next to it! It's ridiculous.

And they achieved that by doing another shameful decision: they set the
starting date of the PhyloCode in the future! Thus, a privileged few that
had inside information on the upcoming publication of PhyloNyms, rushed to
established additional names for their taxonomic groups and claim all
authorships. I know that because I was invited to participate in my own
taxonomic group. I refused, of course...

If they had done what ICZN, for example, has done and set the date in the
past (e.g. the publication of Hennig's book) all current PhyloCoders whould
lose many citations. Who would want that?

A disgrace.

What bothers me the most is that currently the PhyloCode mostly scavenges
over ICZN and ICBN names, who have been named and used under those codes
and by authors who respect those codes. The great majority of PC names are
"preexisting names", names established under other Codes.

Then, other authors come, usurp those names and just provide an emended
diagnosis (in many cases not even that) claiming citation and authorship.
If PhyloCode was new and parallel, fine. But as it works now it is a really
a disgrace.

Names established under the Codes (under their rules and naming practices
and prestige) are (in my opinion) also trademarks of these Codes (besides
intellectual property of the authors), and should not be usurped as such in
the PhyloCode...

The way I see it, the PhyloCode has become (originally was something
interesting) a set of rules that allows people that were fed up of citing
past authors for family group names and higher, and they just wanted to
start citing themselves.

For me, firm actions should be taken against the PhyloCode.

Anyway, these are my two cents...

Sincerely,
Evan Vlachos

On Sun, Jun 13, 2021, 03:47 Carlos Alberto Martínez Muñoz via Taxacom <
taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu> wrote:

> These words by Nixon et al. (2003) sound as if they were written today:
> "The most important conclusion is that we need community involvement in
> this. A small group of people who have very significant resources, and thus
> influence, are overthrowing your government — the ICBN and the ICZN. If the
> community does not become actively involved in fighting the PhyloCode, they
> will succeed, and in so doing, demolish much of the hard work that our
> predecessors have built into the current codes. We do not need a parallel
> system."
> The difference is that now not just the codes but the whole of Taxonomy is
> at stake.
> Cheers,
>
> Carlos A. Martínez Muñoz
> Zoological Museum, Biodiversity Unit
> FI-20014 University of Turku
> Finland
> Myriatrix <http://myriatrix.myspecies.info/>
> ResearchGate profile
> <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Carlos_Martinez-Munoz>
> Myriapod Morphology and Evolution
> <https://www.facebook.com/groups/205802113162102/>
>
> ------------------------------
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2021 23:54:04 +0000
> From: Kenneth Kinman <kinman at hotmail.com>
> To: Taxacom Mailinglist <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
> Subject: [Taxacom] PhyloCode
> Message-ID:
>         <
>
> SA0PR19MB41907B98A0901E2E9C032B03C1369 at SA0PR19MB4190.namprd19.prod.outlook.com
> >
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"
>
> Hi All,
>        This talk of numerous parallel naming systems reminds me of the
> confusion that has resulted from PhyloCode.  Those problems were noted long
> ago in the 2003 article "The PhyloCode Is Fatally Flawed, and the
> “Linnaean” System Can Easily Be Fixed".
>
> https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225117136_The_PhyloCode_Is_Fatally_Flawed_and_the_Linnaean_System_Can_Easily_Be_Fixed
> [
>
> https://i1.rgstatic.net/publication/225117136_The_PhyloCode_Is_Fatally_Flawed_and_the_Linnaean_System_Can_Easily_Be_Fixed/links/09e41509804dab1639000000/largepreview.png
> ]<
>
> https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225117136_The_PhyloCode_Is_Fatally_Flawed_and_the_Linnaean_System_Can_Easily_Be_Fixed
> >
> (PDF) The PhyloCode Is Fatally Flawed, and the “Linnaean” System Can Easily
> Be Fixed - ResearchGate<
>
> https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225117136_The_PhyloCode_Is_Fatally_Flawed_and_the_Linnaean_System_Can_Easily_Be_Fixed
> >
> NCBI Taxonomy is the main taxonomic source for several bioinformatics tools
> and databases since all organisms with sequence accessions deposited on
> INSDC are organized in its hierarchical structure.
> www.researchgate.net
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