[Taxacom] a Standard for Taxonomic Verification Qualifiers

[Bob Mesibov]

I think there needs to be a qualifier to allow for the possible decay of 
certainty over time.

In your compilation of qualifiers, I note that both the Australian National 
Fish Collection list and the Chapman (2005) list give highest ranking to an 
identification by an internationally recognised authority. Imagine a museum 
with a group of specimens identified by a world expert who died 20 years 
ago. Taxonomy moves on, and the current world expert might have a different 
view on the IDs. How best to allow for this uncertainty?

The museum to which I'm attached does this with a date field for 
identification. Each record gives the name of the identifier and the year in 
which the identification was made. Identification "age" could be categorised 
within each identifier category, with the oldest IDs being the least 
reliable.
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Dr Robert Mesibov
Honorary Research Associate, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
and School of Zoology, University of Tasmania
Home contact: PO Box 101, Penguin, Tasmania, Australia 7316
(03) 64371195; 61 3 64371195

Tasmanian Multipedes
http://www.qvmag.tas.gov.au/zoology/multipedes/mulintro.html
Spatial data basics for Tasmania
http://www.geog.utas.edu.au/censis/locations/index.html
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