[Taxacom] Technical question

[Bob Mesibov]

Many thanks to Martin & an off-list responder, and especially to Martin
for pointing out Declaration 44.

I agree that in this case lectotypification is unnecessary. What I was
trying to understand is the nature of lectotype/paralectotype. Are they
the whole animals represented by the bits, or just the bits?

With syntypes the situation is much clearer: all the bits are syntypes.
*If* a lectotype is selected in my hypothetical case, then either

- it's the whole animal, but we don't know which bits go with which, so
we must select one bit of that whole animal, and what about the other,
unidentifiable bits?

- it's the one bit selected, in which case what about the other,
unidentifiable bits?

I'm glad I didn't go into law. Issues like this might have worried me
every day.
-- 
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
Ph (03) 64371195; 61 3 64371195
Webpage: http://www.qvmag.tas.gov.au/mesibov.html