[Taxacom] informal catagory between subfamily and family

[Barry Roth]

Michael,
 
Do you mean homonyms -- names with the same spelling occurring at different taxonomic levels?  For names within the scope of the ICZN, this is not considered a problem; names compete in homonymy only within their group (the family-group, the genus-group).  I suppose the framers of the Code thought that usage and context would make, for example, the difference between the genus Polygyroidea and a (potential, as of this date) superfamily Polygyroidea clear enough.  In an unranked, or informally ranked, taxonomy, that fence doesn't exist.  The idea of two taxa of equal dignity, perhaps especially sister-groups, having the same suffix is intuitively appealing; but I don't see how it can be applied widely without creating the appearance of de facto formal categories -- something I personally would rather avoid.
 
Barry

--- On Thu, 4/23/09, Sharkey, Michael J <msharkey at uky.edu> wrote:


From: Sharkey, Michael J <msharkey at uky.edu>
Subject: RE: [Taxacom] informal catagory between subfamily and family
To: "Barry Roth" <barry_roth at yahoo.com>, "Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu" <Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009, 7:04 PM


Thanks Barry,
   One thing that concerned me was that almost every conceivable suffix will result in synonyms (not by IZCN definitions) with generic names, and I suspect that this may prove to be problematic in future attempts to retrieve information. Perhaps uniform suffixes are not necessary and this would help to provide unique names. Any thoughts?
Michael Sharkey
Department of Entomology
University of Kentucky
Lexington KY 40546-0091
(859) 257-9364
msharkey at uky.edu
www.sharkeylab.org
________________________________________
From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Barry Roth [barry_roth at yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 6:42 PM
To: Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] informal catagory between subfamily and family

In an unranked taxonomy some years ago I used the suffixes "-phim" (quasi-Hebraic, think "Seraphim") and "-niki" with the stem of the traditional family-group name.  Speaking of "Helminthoglyptaphim" and "Helminthoglyptaniki" has sometimes got me some funny looks, but they are euphonious names and fun to use.  Because, as you say, your names will be informal, and therefore outside the scope of the ICZN, you might as well have a good time coining them.  With luck, they will be used long into the future.

Barry Roth

--- On Thu, 4/23/09, Sharkey, Michael J <msharkey at uky.edu> wrote:


Dear all,
    I work on a large group of insects (Braconidae) and need some advice on informal names between the familial and subfamilial categories. Presently there are a few groups of subfamilies that are referred to with an oid ending, e.g., microgastroid. I find this too similar or even identical to the informal way one might refer to a superfamily. We were thinking of -formes and -ion. Suggestions and advice are most welcome.
Thanks in advance.


Michael Sharkey
Department of Entomology
University of Kentucky
Lexington KY 40546-0091
(859) 257-9364
msharkey at uky.edu
www.sharkeylab.org
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