[Taxacom] new nomina nuda (was Re: e-only taxonomic publication)

Thu Feb 11 00:28:35 CST 2010

Dear Stephen,

Fehse, Dirk and Jozef Grego (2004). Contribution to the knowledge of 
Triviidae IX. Revision of the genus Trivellona Iredale, 1931, Self 
published on CD ROM [Trivellona revision_1.pdf]. 47 + 31 (plate 
captions) + [11] pp, 31 col. pls., 4 text figs., 4 text diagrams, 33 
distribution maps.  CD jewel case insert.  June 23, 2004.

This is the only Code compliant CD publication that I know of.  It 
includes five new species of Trivellona, pp. 38-42.   LACM is one of 
the 10 designated libraries.  The authors explicitly complied with 
the letter of the code.  I have always been curious whether there 
were any others.  Someone should compile a list.

Patrick LaFollette

At 08:07 PM 2/10/2010, Stephen Thorpe wrote:
>OK, but I can sure understand how people could be confused by the 
>wording! So, in a sense we already have e-only publication, provided 
>you deposit some CDs in some libraries. I am not aware that any new 
>taxon names actually have ever been made available on CD ROM, 
>without printed paper, but if there are any, I'd sure like to know ...
>
>________________________________________
>From: Frank.Krell at dmns.org [Frank.Krell at dmns.org]
>Sent: Thursday, 11 February 2010 4:36 p.m.
>To: Stephen Thorpe; dyanega at ucr.edu; TAXACOM at MAILMAN.NHM.KU.EDU
>Subject: RE: [Taxacom] new nomina nuda (was Re: e-only taxonomic publication)
>
>Art. 8.6. is about electronic 'hard-copies', i.e. CDs, optical discs, etc.
>
>Art. 9.8. explicitly disallows "text of illustrations distributed by 
>means of electronic signals (e.g. by means of the World Wide Web)"
>
>A printout or other hardcopy (media) of works distributed by means 
>of electronic signals is not identical with the work in the sense of the Code.
>
>The authors of the Code very well understood e-publications and 
>declared that they do not constitute published work.
>
>Frank
>
>Dr Frank T. Krell
>Curator of Entomology
>Commissioner, International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
>Chair, ICZN ZooBank Committee
>Department of Zoology
>Denver Museum of Nature & Science
>2001 Colorado Boulevard
>Denver, CO 80205-5798 USA
>Frank.Krell at dmns.org
>Phone: (+1) (303) 370-8244
>Fax: (+1) (303) 331-6492
>http://www.dmns.org/science/curators/frank-krell
>
>
>________________________________________
>From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu 
>[taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Stephen Thorpe 
>[s.thorpe at auckland.ac.nz]
>Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 7:50 PM
>To: Doug Yanega; TAXACOM at MAILMAN.NHM.KU.EDU
>Subject: Re: [Taxacom] new nomina nuda (was Re: e-only taxonomic publication)
>
>Actually, Article 8.6 is very badly worded and rather vague! It 
>seems to me that the writers of the Code didn't really understand 
>e-publication!
>
>Article 8.6. Works produced after 1999 by a method that does not 
>employ printing on paper. For a work produced after 1999 by a method 
>other than printing on paper to be accepted as published within the 
>meaning of the Code, it must contain a statement that copies (in the 
>form in which it is published) have been deposited in at least 5 
>major publicly accessible libraries which are identified by name in 
>the work itself.
>
> >it must contain a statement that copies (in the form in which it 
> is published)
>This is sloppy as! Surely, it should say identical HARD copies! As 
>it is, 'copies (in the form in which it is published)' could mean 
>e-copies, as it was published in e-form! Or does it actually mean 
>deposition of e-copies to libraries??? If it does mean HARD copies, 
>then surely depositing identical hard copies around the place makes 
>it validly published as a hard copy publication! If so, then the 
>e-version is secondary and requires no such statement of 
>deposition!!! Also, it is easy to fulfil the requirements of the 
>article by putting a STATEMENT to that effect in the publication, 
>but does the statement have to be TRUE (i.e., do you have to 
>actually deposit the copies, or can you just state that you have done so)???
>
>...seems to me that the transition to e-taxonomy is a long and 
>painful process ...
>
>Stephen
>
>________________________________________
>From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu 
>[taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Doug Yanega [dyanega at ucr.edu]
>Sent: Thursday, 11 February 2010 2:26 p.m.
>To: TAXACOM at MAILMAN.NHM.KU.EDU
>Subject: [Taxacom] new nomina nuda (was Re:  e-only taxonomic publication)
>
>Referring to the new Mecopteroid names in Science that - evidently -
>had no code-compliant print versions of their descriptions, Stephen
>Thorpe wrote:
>
> >On second thoughts the new generic names are unavailable also (see
> >the above caveat about originally included nominal species must be
> >cited by an AVAILABLE name). Though, had one of the new genera
> >included an already named species, then this would have been type
> >species ...
>
>That would indeed be the case; if there were no previously-described,
>available taxon names cited, then none of the names in this work
>would be available, creating yet another fine mess like Darwinius and
>the others.
>
>I've contacted the authors for clarification, and passed this along
>to the ICZN mailing list for additional input. Damage control, for
>sure, though the responsibility lies with the authors, editors, or
>both; however, it doesn't matter how hard a line the ICZN takes,
>since *compliance* with the Code cannot be "enforced" in any
>meaningful sense (if people want to recognize and use Ren et al.'s
>names, then they may well do so despite the names being unavailable -
>and if someone subsequently makes those names available, and someone
>points out that the Code gives authorship to THAT person, then folks
>might STILL ignore the Code and act as if Ren et al. were the
>authors). As Frank has pointed out, there are precedents, and
>generally speaking, the taxonomic community in these cases (nearly
>all of the involved taxa have been fossils, correct, Frank?) has
>shown little, if any, sign that they CARE about whether a name is
>Code-compliant or not. The reaction is often not "Oh, crud, you're
>right - guess we'll have to stop treating these names as valid and
>publish new descriptions " but instead "What is *wrong* with these
>ICZN bureaucrats, anyway?" (and, I imagine, a protracted session of
>eye-rolling and silent mockery every time they read a message from
>one of us "rule lawyers").
>
>Rodney Dangerfield would understand.
>
>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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Patrick I LaFollette
Research Associate in Malacology
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
pat at lafollette.com 