Type of H. sapiens

[Finn N. Rasmussen]

>From my correspondance with Michael Ivie:

[response concerning provision about availability of type material]
> There is, as of yet, no such provision in the ICZN.  We hope to have
> that changed in the 1997 revision, but as of today, a specimen that
> exists in a private holding, that is unavailable for study to anyone
> but the owner, is still a valid type.

[from my answer]
* -- The (holo?)type of _Homo sapiens_ is as far as I know deposited
* under the floor of a cathedral in Uppsala. This could be construed
* as a collection, inasmuch as it holds other specimens as well,
* although  only from one species. Most specimens are adequately
* labelled, but the preservation is generally poor and the
* "collection" is not really curated. I'm afraid that the specimens
* are not available at all, even to the owner ...

It seems that Linnaeus himself cannot be type of H. sapiens. But
what about designating Mrs. Linnaeus as lectotype? The material (if
preserved) seems to fulfil all requirements and it may be sort of
politically correct, too!

Finn
                      Finn N. Rasmussen
                      Botanical Laboratory, University of Copenhagen
                      Gothersgade 140, DK-1123 Copenhagen K., Denmark
                      Phone: +45 35 32 21 55   Fax: +45 33 13 91 04
                      Web homepage: http://www.bot.ku.dk
                      Email: FinnR at bot.ku.dk