[Taxacom] ZooKeys 91: confused Linnean/cladistic nomenclature

[Stephen Thorpe]

today, this was published:

Smith, N.A. 2011: Taxonomic revision and phylogenetic analysis of the flightless 
Mancallinae (Aves, Pan-Alcidae). ZooKeys, 91: 1–116. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.91.709 


it is very disappointing to see a confused and confusing mixture of Linnean and 
cladistic nomenclature being used here:

the author coins a new "clade-name", Pan-Alcidae, to include Alcidae and 
Mancallinae

this appears to be because 'phylogenetic results support placement of 
Mancallinae as the sister taxon to all other Alcidae'

My objections are as follows:

(1) there was already a Linnean class-series name in use for this clade, namely 
suborder Alcae of order Charadriiformes;

(2) the fact that Mancallinae are sister taxon to all other Alcidae gives us two 
perfectly good Linnean options:

(i) elevate Mancallinae to family status, Mancallidae; or

(ii) keep Mancallinae as a subfamily of Alcidae (this option is perfectly 
consistent with the proposed phylogeny!)

As it is, we now have a Linnean family and an orphan Linnean subfamily both 
sitting equally in "Pan-Alcidae" (which is equivalent to suborder Alcae) ... the 
biodiversity databases are really gonna love that!

Stephen