Holotype fragment (botany)

[Michael Schmitt]

At 18:23 12.01.2006, Richard Pyle wrote:

>  Could a mammalian name be based solely on the left hind foot of the
>animal?  Could an insect name be based on just the thorax?  Could a tapeworm
>name be based on a single segment?

The answer is clearly: yes. For example, the Okapi (Ocapia johnstoni
Sclater, 1901) was described solely on the basis of a piece of skin.
Art. 72.5.1. explicitly states that "an animal, or any part of an
animal, or an example of the fossilized work of an animal, or of the
work of an extant animal if the name based on it was established
before 1931" are eligible to be a name-bearing type.

                                         Best regards
                                           Michael



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