[Taxacom] Drosophila melanogaster name change?

[Francisco Welter-Schultes]

Stephen,

> The application to the ICZN (to protect a combination!) was a
> ridiculous one. 
This was a misunderstanding, provoked by inaccurate headlines.

> The application should have been to deem 
> melanogaster to be the type species of Drosophila, setting aside all 
> previous designations of type species for that nominal genus...
That had actually been the case. The Commission was asked to set 
aside Drosophila's current type species and did not approve this.

The case can be solved by creating a mega-genus Drosophila containing 
many species, probably more than the currently included 1500 species, 
so D. melanogaster would keep its genus-species combination. This is 
the responsibility of taxonomists. I see no constraint to create a 
genus instead of a subgenus Sophophora.

Francisco

University of Goettingen, Germany
www.animalbase.org