valid genus or nomen nudum?

[Bill Shear]

On 5/29/02 6:18 PM, "Barry Roth" <barry_roth at YAHOO.COM> wrote:

> I'll give it a shot:
> Given the date of the publication, I would say that this qualifies as the
> proposal of an available genus-group name, Evaniella.  Evaniella is not a
> nomen nudum because it contains two available species referred to it.  Either
> of the originally referred species, neomexicana or californica, would be
> available for subsequent designation as the type-species.  Although the author
> declared that the "type" was E. unicolor sensu Ashmead, non Say, that species
> is not available as of the date of the present publication and is therefore
> not a candidate for type-species of Evaniella.

Barry, I think this is a reasonable argument based on Art. 12.2.5, but in
Art. 11.10, we read: "If an author employs a specific or subspecific name
for the type species oof a new nominal genus-group taxon, but deliberately
in the sense of a misidentification of it, then the author's employment of
the name is deemed to denote a new nominal species and athe specific name is
available with its own author and date as though it were  newly proposed in
combination with the genus-group name."  There follows an example which is
almost exactly like the one given in the original e-mail message.  So you
could say that Bradley actually established a new species name, E. unicolor
Bradley 1905, an instant homonym of E. unicolor Say.  Then in 1908 (you
could also say) he replaced that name with a new one.

Confusing (and contradictory to my earlier private posts to the questioner)
but it looks like the real answer is that the name became available in 1905,
with the type species a homonym for which the author (Bradley) provided,
inadvertantly,  a "replacement" name in 1908.  (The new name is probably not
a REAL replacement name in the strict sense, but a synonym that takes
precedence over the homonymous first name).

Whew!

Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
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