Genus as the species

[Rod Seppelt]

To add to Eileen Campbell's recent comment.
What really bugs me as well is when one finds lots of genera and species
mentioned in the text and several of the genera begin with the same letter
e.g., lets say Rhizocarpon and Rinodina.
Invariably, in the discussion, one finds reference to the species of these
genera referred to as R. sp and R. sp.  It certainly taxes the brain to
recall exactly which genus is being referred to.
One of the benefits of the Linnaean system of nomenclature is that taxa
have a unique identifier.  I am all for using that identifier rather than
just the genus name, unless it is entirely unambiguous and one is not
implying the entire genus from the observations of one species.
Regards
Rod Seppelt

Dr. Rodney D. Seppelt
Principal Research Scientist
Australian Antarctic Division
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