[Taxacom] "how to approach the revision of a taxon": a plea

[Robin Leech]

Not really all places can be revisited, John.  When our family moved from 
Vernon, BC, to Mill Valley, California, in 1947, I can distinctly recall
stopping to collect at 3 places from the shoulder of Mt Shasta down towards 
Dunsmuir.  The highway was paved, 2-lane, and curved and climbed
every few seconds.  I was 10, and helping Dad collect water beetles.
When I went through there in 1968 to collect spiders for my PhD thesis, the 
old road was mostly buried under a huge 6-lane highway, so none of
the 1947 stopping sites existed in 1967.  That all happened in just 20 
years.

Robin

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Grehan" <jgrehan at sciencebuff.org>
To: <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 8:03 PM
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] "how to approach the revision of a taxon": a plea


I agree - in every taxonomy there is a story, or more precisely, a series of 
stories as much about people as specimens, filled with history, comedy and 
tragedy (the loss of specimens in times of war for example). There is about 
as much to learn about human nature as about life itself. And all those 
weird people who for some reason had to study those obscure creatures that 
no one else really cared about - if they knew of their existence at all. And 
even specimen labels may tell the story of when a certain person was in a 
certain place at a certain time that can be revisited even centuries later 
(and before we had gps tracking too).

John Grehan

-----Original Message-----
From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu 
[mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Herbert Jacobson
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 8:27 PM
To: curini at uniss.it; taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] "how to approach the revision of a taxon": a plea


Relax a little. You have the perfect story. It's what most taxonomist do 
everyday. We work on little know groups where the Types are lost, destroyed, 
or who knows where. The descriptions are vague, contradictory, or, like the 
Types, lost. It's also the reason many of us became taxonomists.

Tell your story. It's a good one,

Herb
> From: curini at uniss.it
> To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
> Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:58:58 +0200
> Subject: [Taxacom] "how to approach the revision of a taxon": a plea
>
> some of you may have proved this special feeling... the deadline of your 
> lecture approaching, and feeling totally inadeguate to the task........it 
> is a disturbing sensation (disturbing at present, with the deadline on may 
> 20th - it will be horrible on may 19th...).
> What I (alas, too lightly..) accepted to lecture was 'How to approach the 
> revision of a taxon (some clues and a practical example)' in a spring 
> school, addressed to PhD and post-doctoral students (I guess mostly 
> italians) , which will be held in Venice (yes, this may have prompted my 
> quick acceptation....).
> I (somehow...) revised the taxon I work on (Proseriata, a group of 
> microturbellarians) - but I am afraid they would not be much useful as 
> 'practical examples' (tiny, soft-bodied creatures, of which there are 
> almost no collections in museums (and those few, made by german students, 
> mostly blew up during WWII...), need to be studied in sections, 
> bibliography far from extensive...). Many taxa are certainly not so.....
> would some of you want to share your experiences on other taxa? any 
> input/suggestion on how to organize the lecture (which could make my 
> presentation, and my present feelings, less miserable...) is absolutely 
> welcome.................
> thank you.....................
>
> Marco Curini-Galletti
> Dipartimento di Zoologia e Genetica Evoluzionistica Università di
> Sassari Via F. Muroni, 25 - 07100 Sassari (Italy)
> Tel: +39 079 228662 Fax: +39 079 228665
> _______________________________________________
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