[Taxacom] New lizard species

[Gary Rosenberg]

The names of these lizard are not available under the Code, because they do not satisfy the requirements of Article 13.1.1 "be accompanied by a description or definition that states in words characters that are purported to differentiate the taxon".

All the authors needed to do was say something like "G at position 179 in gene X" to make the names available. Or detailed a restriction enzyme test. Characters don't have to be morphological, they can be molecular. As it is, for someone to identify one of their "species", the complete analysis would have to be rerun, but the addition of the specimens to be identified might change the result.

Gary Rosenberg
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 

>>> Bob Mesibov <mesibov at southcom.com.au> 06/04/10 8:23 PM >>>
If you haven't seen it, do read

Leache, A.D. and Fujita, M.K. 2010. Bayesian species delimitation in West African forest geckos (Hemidactylus fasciatus). Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Published online as doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.0662

In a well-argued and very clear paper, the authors plump for probabilistic determination of species, and name four *Linnean* species on probabilistic grounds. They say '...we are not aware of any morphological or ecological characteristics that differentiate these lineages,' and therefore diagnose their species as follows (one example):

'Diagnosis. This species includes all populations that cluster with those from the southern portion of the Congolian rainforest included in this study (southern Cameroon, Gabon and Congo), with strong support in the Bayesian species delimitation model.'

I don't actually have a problem with the methods used or the argument. My concern is that the authors confuse Linnean species with lineages. Lineages can be diagnosed within a probabilistic framework. They give us an insight into how evolution might possibly have happened. Linnean species are those nice, easily recognised things that enable us to retrieve biodiversity information, write field guides and feel that we have a handle on natural history.

It's been obvious for a long time that Linnean taxonomy and molecular taxonomy were headed in different directions, but this paper (IMO) is a clumsy attempt to yoke them back together.
-- 
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
03 64371195; 61 3 64371195
Webpage: http://www.qvmag.tas.gov.au/mesibov.html

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