emended higher taxon names

[Ken Kinman]

Thomas,
      There have been attempts to amend the Zoological Code to standardize
endings for higher zoological taxa, but all have met with controversy and
failure.  The Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology is to be commended on at
least attempting to begin the process of doing this over the years.
      Although standardized endings are not formally part of the Kinman
System (and certainly not mandated), I decided to stick my neck out somewhat
further, and extended standardized endings further up the taxonomic
hierarchy.  All invertebrate orders are given the -ida ending, all chordate
orders given the -iformes ending, and all Classes given the -ea ending.
      However, to maintain relative stability, I do not "mandate"
typification.  Across the board mandatory typification, as advocated by
Starobogatov and others, is probably the biggest reason such standardization
has been resisted.
      Whether this will eventually catch on is still uncertain, but I gave
it my best shot, even though emended endings are the most criticized aspect
of the book.  But they are not "new" names as some say, they are simply
emended names like those in the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, and
still to be attributed to the original author.
                        ----Ken Kinman
********************************************************
>From: Thomas Lammers <lammers at VAXA.CIS.UWOSH.EDU>
>Reply-To: Thomas Lammers <lammers at VAXA.CIS.UWOSH.EDU>
>To: TAXACOM at USOBI.ORG
>Subject: Re: which is correct?
>Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 08:01:03 -0500
>
>At 08:59 PM 10/3/00 +0000, you wrote:
>
>>     Since there are no formal rules in the Code for taxa at this level,
>>there is no single "correct" spelling.
>
>As a botanist, it seems really odd to not have a Code cover the upper ranks
>of the hierarchy.  You folks ought to give some thought to fixing that.
>
>
>Thomas G. Lammers, Ph.D.
>
>Assistant Professor and Curator of the Herbarium (OSH)
>Department of Biology and Microbiology
>University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
>Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901-8640 USA
>
>e-mail:       lammers at uwosh.edu
>phone:      920-424-7085
>fax:           920-424-1101
>
>Plant systematics; classification, nomenclature, evolution, and
>biogeography of the Campanulaceae s. lat.
>-----------------------------------------------------------
>"Today's mighty oak is yesterday's nut that stood his ground."
>                                                 -- Anonymous
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