ICZN and new publications formats

[christian thompson]

Doug:

You are confusing TWO different kinds of problems: ICZN Nomenclature and
general information retrieval.

First. Under the code, these names, if not published elsewhere in an
available format, are nomina nuda. They should simply be listed as such in
future publications.

But names should never be ignored. That is the second problem beyond ICZN
based nomenclature. These are now part of scientific communications,
literature, etc., regardless of their status under the ICZN. Hence, as a
service to users in the sense of information retrieval, etc., you still must
track these nomina nuda in your databases. Simply because there is
information associated with them.

The information associated with these name, phylogenetic hypotheses, are
part of the scientific literature. The fact that the names do not conform to
the ICZN does not invalidate these scientific hypotheses about termite
phylogeny. People interested in termites still need to address those ideas.
Hence, the associated names should be indexed. The ICZN does not define and
delimit the scientific universe!

Cheers

F. Christian Thompson
Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS, USDA
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D. C. 20560-0169
(202) 382-1800 voice
(202) 786-9422 FAX
cthompso at sel.barc.usda.gov [NB: no terminal "n"]
visit our Diptera site at www.diptera.org


>>> Doug Yanega <dyanega at POP.UCR.EDU> 11/13 9:14 PM >>>
While we were just on this topic, does anyone know the status of
names listed on the website
http://www.utoronto.ca/forest/termite/taxon.htm ?

This is a proposed phylogeny of the Isoptera, and includes many new
taxon names, from genus up to suborder. I can't find any of the new
genus names in the BIOSIS database online, and wonder if this
constitutes an unpublished work with meaningless names - or has it
been published somewhere? It's dated 1996, with a revision in 1998,
I'm just wondering if something has developed with this work since
1998, and I just haven't found reference to it online (no response
yet from the author).

If not, I presume that such names should be simply ignored
completely? Or should they be listed as nomina nuda in future
revisions (I don't think this is correct)?

Peace,
--

Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
phone: (909) 787-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
            http://entmuseum9.ucr.edu/staff/yanega.html
   "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
         is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82