[Taxacom] Abbreviations/conventions in L. Agassiz' "Nomenclatoris Zoologici Index Universalis"

Sat Jul 14 08:17:15 CDT 2012

Gary Rosenberg's arguments are carefully based on articles of the current
Code, - but, as always in such cases, the challenge is to follow the Code
not without taking usage history and stability into account. Many
subsequent authors have accepted Agassiz's recommendations without any
further explanation. It will be very difficult to find out who was the
first who clearly introduced them as emendations in the sense of the Code.
Most usages would just go again as "incorrect subsequent spellings", i.e.
unavailable names (if article 11.6.1. cannot come into play, as Gary
explained).
In ground beetles, for instance, names like Barypus, Brachynus, Callida,
Cyrtonotus, Diplochila, Graphopterus, Lorocera, Macrochilus, Oxychila,
Polystichus were in such widespread use by many authors until recently,
that just saying these names were incorrect spellings would create the risk
that they can be re-used for different taxa in the future. So, in the
interest of stability, wouldn't it be the easiest solution to accept
Agassiz's recommendations as emendations?

Wolfgang

2012/7/13 Francisco Welter-Schultes <fwelter at gwdg.de>

> If I had the choice between Gary and Neave I'd always vote for Gary... :-))
>
> Note that Neave was to a large extent based on Sherborn, and that
> Sherborn's 100-year old standards and the present-day standards concerning
> the availability of names are not 100 % congruent. We must apply the
> present-day rules in determining what an emendation is, and what is not an
> emendation. Sherborn and Neave regarded many names as available which have
> not been made available under the rules we apply today.
>
> Francisco
>
>
>
> > Dear Gary,
> >
> > Sorry, I'm the one that is now confused... either Neave is correct in
> > calling these "emendations" (in which case they are available names) or
> as
> > stated below, they are unavailable - maybe "suggested emendations, not
> > available from this work" would be more accurate - do you agree?
> >
> > Regards - Tony
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:taxacom-
> >> bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Gary Rosenberg
> >> Sent: Friday, 13 July 2012 7:28 AM
> >> To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
> >> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Abbreviations/conventions in L. Agassiz'
> >> "Nomenclatoris Zoologici Index Universalis"
> >>
> >> I don't agree that the names in Agassiz are emendations: Agassiz didn't
> >> use the names as valid as required by ICZN Article 11.5, and he did not
> >> adopt the changed spellings as required by Article 33.2. His work is a
> >> list of names, not a list of taxa that he considered valid.
> >>
> >> The abbreviation "scr." could mean "scribe" (i.e., the imperative of
> >> scribo), analogous to "vide", being  a direction from Agassiz how one
> >> should write a name. These changed names have no standing in
> >> nomenclature unless adopted by later authors, in which case they date
> >> from their adoption, not from their appearance in Agassiz. They cannot
> >> be regarded as names introduced in synonymy (Article 11.6), because
> >> Agassiz didn't treat them as synonyms of names that he used as valid.
> >>
> >> Gary Rosenberg
> >> Academy of Natural Sciences
> >> Drexel University
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:taxacom-
> >> bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Tony.Rees at csiro.au
> >> Sent: July 12, 2012 4:41 PM
> >> To: r.e.petit at att.net; gread at actrix.gen.nz; taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
> >> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Abbreviations/conventions in L. Agassiz'
> >> "Nomenclatoris Zoologici Index Universalis"
> >>
> >> Thanks, Dick and all, for the responses, so Neave was correct in citing
> >> these alternatives as emendations with authorship of Agassiz...
> >>
> >> For readers' information who may not also be aware of this, Neal
> >> Evenhuis also contacted me pointing out that the year of publication of
> >> Agassiz' "Nomenclatoris Zoologici Index Universalis" should indeed be
> >> cited as 1846, since the BMNH apparently received its copy on 29
> >> December that year, even though the publisher's original information on
> >> the external cover (normally not bound) regarding the dates of
> >> publication of the individual parts said 1847 (as stated elsewhere)
> >> (refer Evenhuis, Litteratura Taxonomica Dipterorum (1758-1930), p. 50).
> >>
> >> Regards - Tony
> >>
> >> ________________________________________
> >> From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [taxacom-
> >> bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Richard Petit
> >> [r.e.petit at att.net]
> >> Sent: Thursday, 12 July 2012 11:12 PM
> >> To: gread at actrix.gen.nz; taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
> >> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Abbreviations/conventions in L. Agassiz'
> >> "Nomenclatoris Zoologici Index Universalis"
> >>
> >> Agassiz considered himself to be the supreme authority on names. He
> >> rarely encountered a name that he could not "improve". His endless
> >> emendations continue to cause problems. They should have been ruled out
> >> as being available en masse many years ago.
> >>
> >> Also, Agassiz published unauthorized pirated German and French
> >> "editions" of Sowerby's "Mineral Conchology" in which he created new
> >> nomina.  Then he wrote Sowerby, stating that Sowerby should not be
> >> upset as his translations gave wider distribution to the work!
> >>
> >> dick p.
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Geoff Read" <gread at actrix.gen.nz>
> >> To: <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
> >> Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2012 5:04 AM
> >> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Abbreviations/conventions in L. Agassiz'
> >> "Nomenclatoris Zoologici Index Universalis"
> >>
> >>
> >> > No, I'm wrong to doubt and there aren't going to be multiple
> >> secondaries.
> >> > On looking at more of the alternates they're indicating his own ideas
> >> > for emendations as others have correctly said, and Neave correctly
> >> reported.
> >> > Agassiz must have been one formidable Latin scholar to encounter.
> >> >
> >> > The Myiadestes complicated sequence of entries is a good example of
> >> > the system.
> >> >
> >> > Amazing work.
> >> >
> >> > Geoff
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > On Thu, July 12, 2012 7:58 pm, Geoff Read wrote:
> >> >> Hi Tony,
> >> >>
> >> >> In the example I found - Scolelepis Blainville 1828 (Scr.
> >> >> Scolecolepis) - Neave was seemingly correct to attribute the first
> >> >> appearance of the 2nd alternate spelling to Agassiz's listing (at
> >> >> least via my reading of the occurrences reported by BHL). This is
> >> >> somewhat of a surprise to me as its appearance is usually dated a
> >> >> decade or so later and attributed to Malmgren (1867).  I doubt
> >> >> Agassiz was creating a new spelling though, or emending anything.
> >> >> From the context he was indicating  it as a secondary spelling he
> >> had
> >> >> seen, & thus thought a misspelling, or at least the junior synonym.
> >> >> "Scr." might be from "scripsit" - 'he [someone else] has written
> >> it'.
> >> >>
> >> >> I wonder if there are multiple secondary names anywhere in Agassiz
> >> >> and how Neave reported those.
> >> >>
> >> >> Geoff
> >> >>
> >> >> On Thu, July 12, 2012 1:15 pm, Tony.Rees at csiro.au wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >>> The reason for caring (at all) about these is that over 2,100
> >> >>> generic names in Neave are credited to Agassiz 1846, Nomen. Zool.
> >> >>> Index Univ. as the authority, the vast majority as "emend. pro..."
> >> >>> although from the above it would seem mostly that he was recording
> >> >>> alternative spellings under "Scr." - or am I perhaps wrong here? In
> >> >>> practical terms it does make a difference, since emendations
> >> >>> (justified or unjustified) are considered available names and
> >> >>> therefore enter homonymy, while simple errors (i.e.
> >> >>> incorrect subsequent spellings not intended as new names) do not.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > _______________________________________________
> >> >
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> >>
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>
> Francisco Welter-Schultes
> Zoologisches Institut, Berliner Str. 28, D-37073 Goettingen
> Phone +49 551 395536
> http://www.animalbase.org
>
>
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