$pecie$ and money

[Richard Zander]

Luis Diego Gomez wrote:
>
> I do not intend to re-open the previous discussion about "selling" species
> for money for "worthy causes", but as a historical factoid, I wish to share
> with you, Taxacomers, the information on what possibly is the most expensive
> weevil known to our own species: Metamasius wolfensohni.
>

Say, I wonder if the Internal Revenue Service is reading this exchange?
What about capital gains? possible loss of not-for-profit status? how
much of this is taxable? If every non-type specimen is a potential new
species, what about insurance rates going up? should we buy vaults, hire
special guards, train attack dobermen for collections areas? Will
curators be fired for NOT naming a species after a potential
funder/donor? Can we charge people extra for NOT naming something after
them with an -ianus ending?

It's amazing to me that this can be so easily ridiculed, yet people
really enjoy and value having species named after then. In fact it is a
pleasure naming species in honor of special people. I'd sure like to
keep the practice in the informal honor realm. Any formal monetary
agreement for naming species after people is disgusting.
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Richard H. Zander, Curator of Botany, Buffalo Museum of Science
1020 Humboldt Pkwy, Buffalo, NY 14211 USA bryo at commtech.net
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