Ethics of selling

[Barry M. OConnor]

At 9:39 PM -0600 3/8/00, JEAN MICHEL MAES wrote:
>Sorry, just a question...
>
>>...the suckers paying me will each get a
>>nice, shiny blue holotype to mount on their wall ...
>
>Did the price include the Holotype ?
>I think the Holotype must be deposit in a Museum.
>
...

There's no requirement in the ICZN for the holotype to be deposited in a
museum.  In fact, the code only recommends that types be treated well
(Recommendation 72F).  There is a long, unhappy, tradition of individuals
depositing types in their personal collections and not letting others study
them, but it's not forbidden by the code.

Barry M. OConnor                phone: (734) 763-4354
Museum of Zoology               FAX: (734) 763-4080
University of Michigan          e-mail: bmoc at umich.edu
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1079  USA