Non type specimens

[E. Parmasto]

On Wed, 1 Sep 2004, Livio Leoni wrote:
> > Dear taxacomers,
> > is it usual to use, besides holotype and paratypes, morphometric and
> > meristic characters of nontype specimens in the description of a new
> > species? Is the description valid? best regards
> Livio Livio Leoni

   In plants and fungi, the specimens used for
describing a new species are called: holotype and
paratypes (= ALL other specimens studied). - Until
the end of 1980ies, about 80-85% of new species of
fungi were described using only ONE collection.
"Variation" of characters indicated in a description
was the variation of a (strictly) local population or of
the fruitbodies, growing on one mycelium. Variation
of the spore measurements indicated was, as a rule,
intraINDIVIDUAL variation = misleading information.
For this, an unknown number of selected (not
randomly taken!) spores was measured.
   In a good description of a "good" species, known
limits of variation must be indicated. For this, more
than one collection (or specimen) must be studied. A
detailed description of the (holo)type _specimen_ is
useful, but this is not the description of a _species_
**********