NOT funny

[Rudy Jocque]

Thanks for the reactions to my mail  “funny (?) mistakes”. But I was not
I search at all for “funny names” which had been the subject of recent
mail exchanges .

I in fact wanted to hint at the present conditions for the creation of
new taxa at species level in the first place and second, find out
whether there are blatant mistakes around like we have had in Araneae
(spiders).
As regarding the first, the Marsupilami example shows that there is not
the slightest filter to date for the creation of new species. If
tomorrow I can convince a newspaper editor that I have found a new
primate and describe it there it will become an available name just like
Marsupilami does. As long as it is obviously  for fun or as an example
for use against a theoretical background (as with the Nasobem and
Caminalcules) there is no real problem and these will not find their way
to the Zoological Record. What is detrimental for the credibility of
taxonomy are the numerous “scientific” journals edited by individuals
that create names without any screening. And I do not think that is
funny at all as it may be one of the reasons taxonomy is not taken
serious in certain circles.

As for the second it would seem, although it is hard to believe, that
only arachnids have been plagued  with manifest or grotesque mistakes
like  animals that were described in the wrong order.


--
Rudy JOCQUÉ
Head of Invertebrate Section
Royal Museum for Central Africa
B-3080 Tervuren
Belgium
TEL  32 2 7695410
FAX  32 2 7695695
e-mail: jocque at africamuseum.be