[Taxacom] Quick question re formation of a family-group name

Mon Dec 20 18:38:26 CST 2010

Dear all,

Completely by chance, I now have an equivalent problem in squids and cirrate octopods to chase, many of which genera end in -teuthis, for example Trachyteuthidae/Trachyteuthididae, Grimpoteuthidae/Grimpoteuthididae, Luteuthidae/Luteuthididae and so on... is there any consensus on "prevailing usage" for these, or is it going to be a case by case basis going back to the original descriptions? (I feel a trawl through BHL and Zoological Record coming up...)

Regards - Tony

> -----Original Message-----
> From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:taxacom-
> bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Tony.Rees at csiro.au
> Sent: Tuesday, 21 December 2010 11:04 AM
> To: dyanega at ucr.edu; TAXACOM at MAILMAN.NHM.KU.EDU
> Subject: [ExternalEmail] Re: [Taxacom] Quick question re formation of a
> family-group name
> 
> Hi Doug, thanks for the input.
> 
> I've located the original work i.e. Laidlaw, 1902, in Gardiner, Fauna
> Maldive Laccad., 1 (3), 291, in which the family is erected and therein
> spelled Pericelidae, here:
> 
> http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11179819
> 
> So I am presuming that settles it?
> 
> Cheers - Tony
> 
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:taxacom-
> > bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Doug Yanega
> > Sent: Tuesday, 21 December 2010 10:49 AM
> > To: TAXACOM at MAILMAN.NHM.KU.EDU
> > Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Quick question re formation of a family-group
> name
> >
> > Tony Rees wrote:
> >
> > >For a genus of flatworms (Pericelis Laidlaw, 1902) which is the type
> > >genus of a family, the family name is given variously as Pericelidae
> > >(e.g. in Parker, 1982 and in the World Register of Marine Species
> > >and ITIS) or Pericelididae (as given in other sources e.g. the
> > >Turbellarian taxonomic database at this time).
> > >
> > >The Zoological Code allows either construction so far as I can tell,
> > >and ultimately goes to "prevailing usage":
> > >
> > ><snip>
> > >
> > >29.3.1.1. If the stem so formed ends in -id, those letters may be
> > >elided before adding the family-group suffixes. If, however, the
> > >unelided form is in prevailing usage, that spelling is to be
> > >maintained, whether or not it is the original spelling.
> > >
> > >Example. The family-group names HALIOTIDAE and HALIOTOIDEA are not
> > >changed to HALIOTIDIDAE and HALIOTIDOIDEA, even though the stem of
> > >Haliotis is Haliotid-, as the latter spellings are not in prevailing
> > >usage.
> > >
> > ></snip>
> > >
> > >"elided" was not a term I was previously familiar with, but means
> > >omitted or eliminated for present purposes.
> > >
> > >If that well known authority Google is anything to go by,
> > >Pericelidae wins over its longer rival (11,700 vs. 143) but I have a
> > >feeling that this may conceivably be skewed by propagation and
> > >re-propagation of some high profile listing, e.g. Catalogue of Life
> > >- for example unreviewed names from the original NODC taxonomic code
> > >are still present in ITIS and in some cases passed up to CoL without
> > >further comment or scrutiny, and this appears to be one such name.
> > >(This is not intended to be a springboard for criticism of that
> > >system, just a possible indication of how and why such things may
> > >happen).
> > >
> > >Suggestions, authoritative or not would be welcome as to which name
> > >would be more appropriate to follow at this time - at present my
> > >preference would be for the longer form since that appears to be
> > >used in arguably more authoritative sources, but I am open to other
> > >evidence. For example in Zoological Record, a search on
> > >"Pericelidae" yields one hit only, but Pericelididae yields none...
> > >Pericelidae has 13 hits on Google scholar, Pericelididae has 3.
> > >
> > >Does anyone have a magic bullet here, maybe?
> >
> > If there are two spellings in use, then one has to appear at an
> > earlier date in the literature. The *default* option under the Code
> > is to use the oldest name, but there are conditions - such as
> > prevailing usage - where the default does not apply. The Code is
> > reasonably clear on what sorts of sources qualify for determining
> > "prevailing usage", so - in principle - a thorough look at the
> > primary literature dating back 50 years (e.g., see Art. 23.9.1)
> > *should* be sufficient. It is always possible in a very small group
> > with few publishing authors, that these minimum requirements are not
> > met, and various situations and approaches are outlined in other
> > parts of Article 23.9, some of which may require petitioning the ICZN
> > for a ruling.
> >
> > In the present case, the names are rather close to the insect family
> > Periscelididae, and the shorter spelling is less likely to be
> > confused, but that's not *technically* a homonym, so it doesn't
> > really come into play.
> >
> > It seems possible that someone not conversant with the Code but
> > conversant in Latin is responsible for the change from Pericelidae to
> > Pericelididae, but the citation you give - 23.9.1.1 - is quite
> > explicit that the name should NOT be changed, even if it's bad Latin.
> > Bad Latin is not a Code violation, though many people seem to act as
> > if it is.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > --
> >
> > Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research
> Museum
> > Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314        skype: dyanega
> > phone: (951) 827-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not
> UCR's)
> >               http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html
> >    "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
> >          is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82
> >
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