Hands off genera (please)

[Ken Kinman]

      It is very late, but I want to post my thoughts tonight while they are
fresh.  The problems of nomenclature today are mainly due to the way
information is being packed into classifications.  This transcends
differences between cladists and eclecticists, for I believe they are all
going in the wrong direction---More and More and More "formal" taxon names.
Whether you find ranks utilarian or not, they certainly make it clear to
everyone that the growth of intermediate ranks (and the names filling them)
are straining both classification and nomenclature (be it cladistic or
eclectic).
      The main purpose of the Kinman System is to show that we can and
should reverse course and simplify both our nomenclature and
classifications, and pack in all this new information in new ways (coding
and markers).  In the process, I hope it has also shown that a single
classification methodology can be made useful to both cladists and
non-cladists, if we put our energies into a cooperative effort.  My
classifications reflect my love of cladistic analysis and branching order,
but strict cladism swings the pendulum too far the other way.
Philosophically, I agree that clades are real, but on the other hand, every
cut on the Tree of Life (and they are all arbitrary, like it or not) creates
not only a descendant clade, but an ancestral paraphyletic group at the same
time.  Both cladists and eclecticists alike are formally cutting the tree
into too many arbitrary pieces, and the Phylocode will open the floodgates
to a mindless and very destructive escalation of such practices.
      In my opinion the PhyloCode will do two things in the long run:
(1) dramatically increase the numbers of "formal" taxon names, and the
confusion and bickering they will generate;
(2) widen the gulf between the two main schools of systematic thought even
further, and solidify the incorrect perception that a single
cladisto-eclectic approach is not possible.
      From what Cantino has said (and I thank him for his patient
explanations), I think his intentions are sincere and hopeful.  HOWEVER,
once set in motion, other strict cladists will undoubtedly use the PhyloCode
to slowly but surely destroy Linnean classification.  And whether or not
strictly cladistic classifications would ever stable later in the 21st
century, increasing confusion would plague biology for generations.
Peaceful coexistence with a separate PhyloCode is surely wishful thinking
(and is contradicted by what we have already seen happen before such
codification).  Thomas Lammers' (and many other) "sandboxes" will certainly
be increasingly impinged upon, and the PhyloZone discussed by Mark Garland
will probably expand systematically and relentlessly in away that even
Philip Cantino could not have envisaged.
      This is going to propel us further in the wrong direction---more and
more "formal" names (valid and invalid) increasingly bogging down the
nomenclatural system, thus impeding our exploration and description of a
fast disappearing world of biodiversity.  Nomenclature is already a time
consuming, legalistic mess, and PhyloCode will only make it worse.
Therefore I share Michael Benton's grave misgivings about the PhyloCode.
      But since it seems to be coming, like it not, I would urge Philip and
colleagues to (at the very least) seriously consider leaving generic names
(as well as species names) out of the "beta-testing" of this new Code.  The
generic level is where most of the damage and confusion will occur, so
wouldn't it be advisable to at least leave genera out of this experiment
until you really understand the long term implications of what you are
starting?  This would be the responsible and prudent thing to do if you are
really concerned about the long term stability of systematic nomenclature
and classification.
                        -------Ken Kinman
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