[Taxacom] "how to approach the revision of a taxon": thank you!

[John Grehan]

The Naturist Camp incident is perfect. But a two hour lecture!!! What a mind numbing exercise (what clot thought of this?). I could not think of a better way to kill interest in a subject. I don't recall if you said how many students or their status. 

My advice, should it be of value) would be to introduce some kind of activity in the middle to help them recuperate. Maybe (I know it might be too absurd) you could have them think of themselves as individuals of a species (which they are) and that they have to decide (perhaps by vote and with explanations as to why) which of them will be the holotype, allotype, and which among them will become the paratypes (just some of them, all of them?) and what institutions they think they might like to be stored in (and how). I know this sounds a bit like a kindergarten exercise, but sometimes simple fun things like this have a more lasting effect than all the lectures in the world.

You might also mention that taxonomists sometimes become theorists on the whole of nature and evolution. You have a fantastic example in Italy with the example of Danielle Rosa who (in my opinion) was a founder of modern cladistics (and from whom Hennig may have got the idea when in Italy during the war). Also, you have Leon Croizat, the botanist and biogeographer who was born in Turin in 1894 and when young was a frequent visitor to the eminent herpetologist Count Mario Perracca, and there also very likely met and listened to Rosa, and many years later incorporated some of the same principles of biogeography advocated by Rosa. 

On types, a favorite of mine is perhaps more about a 'non-type' As you will see in the link below, the ornithologist Buller painted a new species of ghost moth in the late 1800's quite unlike anything ever discovered before or since. Unfortunately the specimen disappeared so no one knows what to make of it. Several attempts have been made to find more (including by me) but none have so far succeeded. Is it some kind of figment of the imagination, a bad rendition or an aberrant specimen of something already known. Perhaps we will never know for sure.

http://musicmusic.tripod.com/forgotten-fauna/forgotten-fauna-moth-cicada.html 

John Grehan

-----Original Message-----
From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of curini
Sent: Monday, May 02, 2011 9:53 AM
To: Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Subject: [Taxacom] "how to approach the revision of a taxon": thank you!

Hi all,
I am really thankful to the many of you who answered and helped me - now my mind is much clearer, and I am starting to relax (and sort of enjoying the idea to prepare the lecture...). I have a frame (thanks, Yuri), and an inspiration. John put down the exact feelings I have about our job, in a way I could not be able to do:
" 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. 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)."
 This is the message a wanted somehow to convey - and yes, the suggestion of David to present as a case study a small genus is perfect. I have a perfect example with my obscure animals (genus Pseudomonocelis), with cryptic species, adoption of integrative approaches to taxonomy (molecules, morphology, karyology, cross-breeding experiments...), and - of course- stories......
Since I just discovered from the new edition of the programme of the course that I have to lecture for 2 HOURS, stories will be the key....as my search for a type locality of one of the species above in the Baltic which turned out to be enclosed within a Naturist Camp, and I had to pass my bottles from across the fence to a very kind, and mildly amused, middle aged couple who did the samplings (no - no traces of my worms...). As a final request, has any of you some stories (such the one above, searching for type localities designated long ago, in a rapidly changing world.......) which I may use to enliven my talk (and fill the 2-hours time?). You will be credited (unless you prefer anonymity.......:)) again - thank you all!
marco


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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