[Taxacom] Global biodiversity databases

[Paul van Rijckevorsel]

From: <Tony.Rees at csiro.au>
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2012 4:07 AM

[...]
A previous Taxacom post from Rod Page suggested the following:

<snip>

Very simple questions are being asked:

1. Is this a name?
2. Is this the correct way to write it?
3. Is this name currently in use?
4. What other names are related to this name (e.g., synonyms, lexical
variants)?
5. Where was this name published? Can I see that publication?

</snip>

I would extend this a bit further:

6. What is the current (and also past) taxonomic placement of this name (+
according to...)
7. What are its parent/children in the selected current taxonomic hierarchy
8. What other names are lexically related to this name (homonyms,
near-homonyms/candidate "did you mean")
9. What do we know of the type specimen i.e. when/where collected, where
deposited, geologic age, associated habitat etc.
10. What do we know of the taxon to which this name applies - ecological
info, distribution in space and time, common names, descriptive characters,
significant literature treatments

***
Surely that is not the orderly way to do it. Something
more along these lines is called for:

A) nomenclatural:
1. Is this a name?
2. Is this the correct way to write it?
4. What other names (i.e. [homotypic] synonyms), [and text strings]
   (i.e. variants) are related to this name?
8. What other names are lexically related to this name (homonyms,
    near-homonyms/candidate "did you mean")
5. Where was this name published? Can I see that publication?
9. What do we know of the type specimen i.e. when/where collected,
    where deposited, geologic age, associated habitat etc.

B) Taxonomic:
3. Is this name currently in use?
7. What are its parent/children in the selected current taxonomic
    hierarchy
6. What is the current (and also past) taxonomic placement of this
    name (+ according to...)
4. What other names (i.e. [heterotypic] synonyms) are related
    to this name?

C) Actual information
10. What do we know of the taxon [/taxa ] to which this name
    applies - ecological info, distribution in space and time,
    common names, descriptive characters, significant literature
    treatments

In many databases there is now a mixture of information and
opinion, with the average user unable to tell the difference.

Best,
Paul