obscure publication

[christian thompson]

Reagrding Joe's comment

With respect to older publications, I think that the
ICZN handles this better than the ICBN. Please correct me if
I am wrong, but to my understanding under the ICZN a name
is automatically dead if it has not been used in 50 years.

NOT QUITE SO.

In the current ICZN, the pertinent article is 79c, Supression of UNUSED =
senior synonyms.
The name is not "dead" (not available), merely it can not be used as a =
VALID name IF the junior name has been used by 5 different authors in at =
least 10 publications in the past 50 years. And one must request the =
Commission to do this for you.

Hence, there is nothing AUTOMATIC about it and it only deals with relative =
priority. However, this rule does make it possible to play some great =
games, Such as you find what you think is a new species, you describe it, =
but someone point out that there is an old name for it. No problem, get a =
few of your friends to use your new name in their publications and you can =
invoke art 79c to save your junior name. I won't name names but a perusal =
of the Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature will reveal cases like this.

The new ICZN will improve on this by elimination the need to apply for a =
Commission ruling. It will also push back the time to the last century =
(that is, names published before 1900). But essentially this will mean =
that zoologists will not have to deal with old literature. Yes, questions =
about typification, spelling, etc., may require the checking of old =
literature for names that are currently being used as valid. However, in =
doing taxonomy it is only those taxa that have been dealt with in modern =
(this century) works that count.=20

F. Christian Thompson
Systematic Entomology Lab., USDA
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D. C. 20560
(202) 382-1800 voice
(202) 786-9422 FAX
cthompso at sel.barc.usda.gov