Taxacom: Management of "unnecessary" names in databases
Tony Rees
tonyrees49 at gmail.com
Mon Nov 28 11:46:35 CST 2022
2022
My practice (in IRMNG, data structure is similar to WoRMS) has not involved
ranks between the strict Linnean ones very much (i.e. subfamilies,
superfamilies, etc.), however sometimes a family is demoted to a subfamily,
an order to a suborder, etc. In these cases I keep the formerly used name
instance, at its former rank, but synonymise it with whatever the current
equivalent would be, based on the current placement of the type [genus],
and add a note regarding the current status; for genera that have become
subgenera, the same, based upon the current placement of the type species.
Actually genera (in zoology only) are a special case, in that all proposed
genera and subgenera belong to the "genus group" and (where available) can
be used at either rank according to the preference of later workers; so
while IRMNG does not invoke zoological subgenera in its taxonomic
classification (at this time, anyway), these names are all entered
regardless of original proposed rank, however only those currently used as
valid genera are treated as accepted names [at genus level], the ones
currently valid only at subgenus (no change in spelling or authorship
involved) are treated as unaccepted and synonyms of their containing genus
(again, according to the current placement of their type species). So in
these cases a particular name (subgenus or genus) would only be held once
in IRMNG, at this time only, and its treatment could shift according to
future taxonomic actions (or recently proposed ones not yet caught up with).
For ranks higher than genus e.g. family <> subfamily, as you say typically
the spelling of the name would change (e.g. ...idae vs. ...inae in zoology)
but since IRMNG does not aim to be comprehensive at ranks higher than
genus, normally the ''inae" forms (subfamilies) would not be entered,
although the database structure will accept them if a future editor wishes
to do so for a particular group (and, do it consistently I guess). Some
order names (and above) do become sub-ranks without a change in spelling,
however; also in some cases to date I have included intermediate ranks
(subclasses, occasionally infraclasses, a few suborders) in the IRMNG
taxonomic tree where it seems helpful and is an established practice, such
as in Mammalia (e.g. see
https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irmng.org%2Faphia.php%3Fp%3Dtaxdetails%26id%3D11922423&data%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7Cdb86a02ef30248e60f6008dad16887a3%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638052544128820366%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=WM3e5FGCQVLNKsH5j0wAi68a4FoLqRyp2V%2B6X3lhHrw%3D&reserved=0 for subclass
Theria), so the practice of omitting subordinate ranks is not immutable.
Hope this helps, maybe it does not!
Regards - Tony
Tony Rees, New South Wales, Australia
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On Tue, 22 Nov 2022 at 02:36, Scott Thomson via Taxacom <
taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:
> I keep them but make them redirect to the now used name thats relevant.
> This way if someone searches for the term they still find the relevant
> valid name.
>
> It's kind of a combination of keeping the data in case things change and
> considering all possibilities for end user usage.
>
> Cheers Scott
>
>
>
> On Mon, Nov 21, 2022, 9:23 AM Carlos Alberto Mart?nez Mu?oz via Taxacom <
> taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:
>
> > Dear Taxacomers,
> > Sometimes it happens that scientific names at a given superrank or
> subrank
> > are subsumed into each other. For a pair of two names, this often means
> > that the only remaining name becomes "unnecessary" as it contributes
> > nothing to the classification.
> > For example, in a family with two subfamilies, one subfamily is
> considered
> > to be nested within the other and therefore synonymized. The result is
> one
> > family with one subfamily, the latter being now "unnecessary" from the
> > classification point of view.
> >
> > Sometimes it happens that a subordinal name is elevated to order,
> including
> > a slightly different ending. No new suborders are proposed. The old
> > suborder name is now "unnecessary" for the classification.
> >
> > How are you handling these "unnecessary" names in your databases? Do you
> > keep them in the backend but make them invisible in the frontend? Do you
> > tag them with some qualifier or status? Do you delete them? Something
> else?
> >
> > Kind regards,
> > Carlos
> >
> > Carlos A. Mart?nez Mu?oz
> > Myriatrix <
> >
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmyriatrix.myspecies.info%2F&data%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7Cdb86a02ef30248e60f6008dad16887a3%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638052544128820366%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=WIRejZ5bfUrD2Lje9l3ytbE62PT6GayoIz7CiJdnuPo%3D&reserved=0
> > >
> > ResearchGate profile
> > <
> >
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> > >
> > Myriapod Morphology and Evolution
> > <
> >
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