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Taxacom: A compromise solution (was Re: Single official lists of taxa (sensu Doug Yanega many proposals to this list))

George Beccaloni g.beccaloni at gmail.com
Thu Jul 6 20:05:35 CDT 2023 

I suggested to Bernard D'Abrera as a joke that he should give a new
butterfly taxon an unpronounceable name and he went on to describe Theope
archimedes zyzyxoxyx D'Abrera, 1994

George
****************************************************************************
*Dr George Beccaloni FLS*
*Director, Alfred Russel Wallace Correspondence Project*

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On Fri, 7 Jul 2023 at 01:22, Michael Heads via Taxacom <taxacom at lists.ku.edu>
wrote:

> In Lepidoptera compared with other groups there seem to be (???) many more
> proper names used as nouns in apposition, so the whole noun + adjective
> gender agreement system breaks down/becomes a bit irrelevant.
>    On a lighter note, a name should  above all be memorable, for whatever
> reason. The Pacific landsnails Aaadonta and Zyzzyxodonta were Alan Solem's
> brazen attempt to be first and last in Mollusca, but it was funny and the
> names are memorable.
>
> On Fri, Jul 7, 2023 at 11:48 AM Francisco Welter-Schultes via Taxacom <
> taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:
>
> > My dear, what an endless debate. This gender debate issue pops up every
> > once and a while, but rarely in such an intensity as this time.
> >
> > I imagine 30 years ago there have been almost exactly the same
> > arguments, and Code-4 did not find a solution. If Code-5 does not find a
> > solution the endless debate will be perpetuated.
> >
> > As the head of the Code-5 Committee I am not happy with this situation.
> >
> > I am asking myself what an average lepidopterist would say? Maybe they
> > would just say "We are so happy that we do not need to discuss such
> > stuff, we can just smile that we do not have these problems, and can
> > spend our precious time with doing bioscientific research on the animals
> > we are working on".
> >
> > Basically I belong to those who do not know Latin, and who do not know
> > the meaning of flava. Names have always been just names to me, I just
> > never have been interested in what flava means. I can understand that
> > others, in particular botanists who had to publish Latin diagnoses until
> > recently, find some help in the meaning of such names. This belongs to
> > the field of personal choices and preferences. It is nothing where I
> > could say that the entire zoological community would unanimously approve
> > any statement in this concern. Some will find Latin helpful, others not.
> >
> > We are trying to improve the Code, to facilitate its reading and the
> > application of nomenclatural rules - on the other hand, in the
> > Commission we are working on the base of majority decisions. At the end
> > I might have to execute some decisions that I would personally consider
> > being in conflict with the basic task, which is to facilitate the
> > application of nomenclatural rules, and making the Code robust for a
> > zoological community in the future. But if the majority vote is to have
> > the Code mainly for those who find Latin helpful, and not for the
> > others, I will have to execute that.
> >
> > Adam and Doug made some excellent points that would allow us to advance
> > a few steps ahead.
> > I currently do not see that those who argue that gender agreement should
> > just be maintained in the encrusted system we currently have, would
> > contribute much to a solution of the problem. They did not 30 years ago,
> > and I would not expect a different result now.
> >
> > And I note another thing: The one side tries repeatedly to find
> > compromises, the other side does not try to find compromise solutions.
> >
> > Adam's suggestion to work with prevailing usage could eventually be
> > implemented in the Code. Currently prevailing usage only works for
> > spelling issues (Arts. 33.2.3.1 and 33.3.1), and it is unclear under
> > which conditions the term is precisely applicable.
> > It could be applied for species-group name endings (endings could be
> > fixed by this method), and the conditions could be fixed.
> > The conditions will have to be fixed anyway. Fixing a spelling as in
> > prevailing usage would become a nomenclatural act, to be published, with
> > 25 works to be cited like in Art. 23.9.2 which works quite successfully,
> > and the proportion of prevailing usage could be required as having to be
> > higher than some 80 or 90 %. Such a regulation would replace Arts.
> > 33.2.3.1 and 33.3.1.
> > This could not be done with the ending (if a species was located in the
> > same genus for the last 80 years it would always have had the same
> > ending), but something similar could be invented. An author who placed a
> > species-group name into a genus of different gender could have the
> > option to fix the ending as undeclineable, in an act somehow similar to
> > Art. 70.3.
> >
> > Basic line: Adam's proposals could be implemented in Code-5.
> >
> > Doug made some suggestions that could change workflows and release
> > taxonomists from having to consult the Code for a guideline how to
> > determine genders and declineability of specific names. They could just
> > either consult a published list (with free access), or they could
> > consult a scientific body, a group of people who would provide correct
> > answers within a few days or weeks.
> >
> > Doug suggested to align Art. 31.2.2 with this approach. This could be
> > implemented - given that such a list would be established and placed
> > permanently at the users' disposal, with a permanent financial supply
> > that would allow to modify entries. I would prefer the list under such
> > conditions going online first, and then changing the Code.
> >
> > Determining a gender of a genus-group name could be easier. A body of
> > experts could to the job, and in the Code we would just state that for
> > the gender this body is to be consulted. Also here, before we modify the
> > Code we would have to establish such a body and see if it works.
> >
> > Basic line: I currently see no option to propose regulations in a
> > revised Code that would be in line with Dougs (otherwise excellent)
> > proposals. This would require some preconditions.
> >
> > One final point: We are talking about zoological nomenclature. We should
> > keep in mind that in the gender debate we are only talking about
> > non-lepidopteran nomenclature. This comprises only 90 % of zoology.
> > I have been advocating to integrate the remaining 10 % of zoologists
> > inside the frame we are providing, but I currently see no majority
> > trends that would support such a move. As the head of the Code-5
> > Committee I can only follow the majority vote, which is currently facing
> > an approach that retains the lepidopteran tradition outside the frame.
> > Adam is trying to integrate lepidopterology into the Code's frame.
> > My personal preference would be that lepidopteran nomenclature in the
> > future would follow a fixed written frame in terms of gender agreement.
> >
> > Francisco
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
> > Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity and admiring alliteration for
> > about 36 years, 1987-2023.
> >
>
>
> --
> Dunedin, New Zealand.
>
> My books:
>
> *Biogeography and evolution in New Zealand. *Taylor and Francis/CRC, Boca
> Raton FL. 2017.
>
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>
>
> *Biogeography of Australasia:  A molecular analysis*. Cambridge University
> Press, Cambridge. 2014. https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cambridge.org%2F9781107041028&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7Ccab90eae611e432040e108db7e8654f4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638242887641816414%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ndiYznFwZJhaXTwoN%2F1S6JLQ7mwaApC5r73g8VNh%2Fr4%3D&reserved=0
>
>
> *Molecular panbiogeography of the tropics. *University of California Press,
> Berkeley. 2012. https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ucpress.edu%2Fbook.php%3Fisbn%3D9780520271968&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7Ccab90eae611e432040e108db7e8654f4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638242887641816414%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=aNHMvjof3cJsMAdfScWDR55nb4SERXL8GThndPZup2s%3D&reserved=0
>
>
> *Panbiogeography: Tracking the history of life*. Oxford University Press,
> New York. 1999. (With R. Craw and J. Grehan).
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.co.nz%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DBm0_QQ3Z6GUC&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7Ccab90eae611e432040e108db7e8654f4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638242887641816414%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=KGVxL6bwmgAZlLg4x%2B8kyH06utAPdKHDYV15JJZVJZg%3D&reserved=0
> <
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> >
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>
> Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity and admiring alliteration for
> about 36 years, 1987-2023.
>

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