NomenclatorZoologicus

[David Remsen]

Dr. Lorenz/ Dr. Spies

Thank you for your points and observations regarding the conversion of
Nomenclator Zoologicus.   With the new year we are focusing our efforts
on continuing the revision of the conversion and an extension of the
existing Agenda and Corrigenda sections of the NZ.  The current online
NZ is still a work in progress.

Our first priority is to ensure that the digitized conversion
represents an accurate transcription of the existing volumes 1-9 of NZ.
   This is the intent of locating reviewers.   This round requires less
taxonomic expertise than simply a willingness to endure 100 pages of
proofing.  The result however, is a clean community resource reviewed
by members of the community itself.  Reviewers will also receive a copy
of the final work on CD.   Breaking the volumes into 100 page sections
appeared to me to be more systematic in that we would then know which
sections have or have not been reviewed.  However, we could also
provide the means to review taxonomic groups as well and simply place
review attributes at the record level.  My experience in doing this
myself is that once you are on a page it is easier to simply stay on
that page rather than jump around.  We hope to have an editorial system
running sometime this month.

Once we have a clean and reviewed conversion we can focus on the
accuracy of the printed document. Our second goal is an online
supplement to the Agenda and Corrigenda sections where corrections to
the correctly transcribed volumes can be added as supplements to the
original records.  For example, Alatotrochus Cair 1994 (within the
volumes) should actually be Alatotrochus Cairns 1994.   In this case,
the original must remain as it factually exists within the printed
document and the correction will be a separate and linked record.

Our third effort will be to catalog genera not contained with NZ and to
provide a means to include or not include these data within a search as
a separate resource.  We have received numerous offers of additional
genera data.

Lastly, although I do like the look of "Dr. Remsen", I'm afraid that I
am neither an M.D. or Ph.D. (yet) but instead remain a curious amalgam
of biologist and informatician who has yet to free himself from all
this to actually finish a graduate degree.

Cheers,
David Remsen

On Jan 3, 2005, at 5:05 AM, Faunaplan at AOL.COM wrote:

> Dear All,
> the online version of NEAVE's NomenclatorZoolicus (via the uBio
> website) is
> certainly among the outstanding achievements of last year,
> congratulations!
> However, since it probably will be consulted by many more users than
> the book
> version, wouldn't it be helpful to point to the pitfalls and limits of
> this
> source?
> In my mind, things like the following should be made explicit:
> - the Nomenclator is by no means a complete directory of available
> genus-group names for the time period 1758-1994 and availability of
> names listed in the
> Nomenclator is not guaranteed.
> - in some cases, the attribution of names to authors & dates is not
> Code
> compliant. For example, there is misleading information on the
> following 31
> important genus-group names in Coleoptera Carabidae, which should be
> attributed to
> BONELLI 1810: Abax, Agonum, Alpaeus, Amara, Anchomenus, Aptinus,
> Blethisa,
> Calathus, Callistus, Cephalotes, Chlaenius, Demetrias, Dinodes,
> Ditomus, Dolichus,
> Dromius, Dyschirius, Epomis, Laemostenus, Lamprias, Melanius, Molops,
> Oodes,
> Pelor, Percus, Platynus, Platysma, Poecilus, Polistichus, Procrustes,
> Pterostichus.  (for details see MADGE 1975: The type-species of
> BONELLI's genera of
> Carabidae (Coleoptera, Carabidae). - Quaest. Ent., 11: 579-586).
>
> Best wishes,
> Wolfgang Lorenz, Tutzing, Germany
>
>
_______________________________________________
David Remsen
uBio Project Developer
Marine Biological Laboratory
Woods Hole, MA 02543
508-289-7632