[Taxacom] Drosophila melanogaster name change?

[Frederick W. Schueler]

Kim van der Linde wrote:

> Many clades are morphologically more alike the included genera than 
> to the other clades within the same genus. 

> and the genus by itself is highly heterogeneous, to the point that there 
> is not a single synapomorphy that holds the genus together.

* I think the point here is that we all know there are some genera 
(Rana, Bufo, Acacia) that were just held together by inertia and gross 
morphological similarity, so that everyone has known for decades that 
when they were looked at carefully, either they'd either have to be 
broken into units more equivalent to the paraphyletic genera they've 
given rise to, or else all genera would have to be lumped back up to a 
Linnean level.

If this simple generic name change upsets laboratory sorts, just pat 
them on the head, and tell them to be glad that some wrinkle of 
homonymony didn't change the specific epithet as well, so they'd have to 
strain themselves to remember that Sophophora pusulosa (not "pustulosa") 
would be the new name for Drosophila melanogaster.

You can bet that they won't reject any improved knowledge of the 
relationships among species of Fruit Flies that comes along with the 
name change.

fred.
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          Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
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