Taxacom: Species described based on a single collection

[John Grehan]

Interesting question. With respect to "how many known only from the type",
one would require knowledge of revisions where a species may have
originally been described from a single type, but subsequently known for a
multitude of specimens. Of course, naming a new species from a single
specimen can often be tricky if the differences are limited. I am guilty of
that myself, but in most cases it is likely I would be dead before
sufficient duplicate material was available, if ever (or they become
extinct). I figure better to name such specimens now and let the future
work out synonymies if they exist.

John Grehan

On Sun, Feb 19, 2023 at 3:53 PM Laurent Gautier via Taxacom <
taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> We often hear or read: "A huge amount of Amazon plant species are known
> only from the type" or "Most XIXth century species descriptions are based
> on a single specimen". But has anybody gone any further in metrics?
>
> I am looking for statistics (published or not) on the percentage of
> species descriptions based on a single specimen (or collection), and
> possibly its variation across time or geographical area considered.
>
> Does that ring a bell to anybody? My main focus is on flowering plants,
> but all living organisms welcome!
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Laurent Gautier
> Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques, Geneva, Switzerland
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