[Taxacom] Return of the digital taxa

Thu Sep 22 17:28:20 CDT 2016

Yes, I got caught in a confusion between the two papers as well. (As you 
did initially too, Stephen, but for some reason that I don't understand, 
your emails to the group stopped to reach me some time ago; I can only 
see them in the archive.) So to be clear:
- The first paper (Anthrenus kamiluhi, 
http://easletters.com/volume3-issue1-2016/EASL-2016-3-1-1-3.pdf , 
claimed to be a "nomen nudum" by Háva, Herrmann & Kadej) is registered 
in ZooBank (and is thus presumably published).
- The second one (Thamaglossa zhantievi, 
http://easletters.com/volume3-issue4-2016/EASL-2016-3-4-12-14.pdf ) is 
not (and is IMHO unpublished).

The ISSN claimed on ZooBank (2348-2864) is that of the online version. 
Here: http://easletters.com/malpractice-policy.html the journal is said 
to be "an *electronic* peer reviewed international journal". ELibrary.ru 
- http://elibrary.ru/title_about.asp?id=56427 - makes 2348-2864 the ISSN 
of the online (онлайновой) version, and gives no ISSN of any printed 
(печатной) version.

SV Pushkin appears on the website of his university - 
http://www.ncfu.ru/spisok-sotrudnikov/1302-pushkin-sergey-viktorovich.html 
- so the affiliation presumably did exist at some point at least. 
Whether the university will answer an outsider about this type of issue, 
is probably a different matter, though.

(But I doubt that a Russian zoologist can get this type of publicity:
https://www.zin.ru/animalia/coleoptera/rus/puspdf18.htm
...on the website of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of 
Science at St-Petersburg, and keep things quiet indefinitely...)

Laurent -


On 09/22/2016 11:32 PM, Stephen Thorpe wrote:
> I note that someone using the name "Sergey Viktorovich Pushkin" has
been active on ZooBank ( http://zoobank.org/Search?search_term=Pushkin
), trying to register articles. Also, it appears that Hava et al.
described Anthrenus pushkini Herrmann, Kadej & Háva, 2015!
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297838486_A_new_species_of_Anthrenus_Geoffroy_1762_Coleoptera_Dermestidae_from_Dagestan

> Evidently they were collaborating at some stage. I have as yet had
> no
reply from either Hava, nor the Russian university that Pushkin claims
affiliation with. The ZooBank record for the journal (
http://zoobank.org/References/7C956948-1236-45B4-A62B-414B69567BDE )
claims to have a print ISSN, so I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss it as
e-only! It would be very easy for them to produce a minimal print run
anyway, or to fake it in a way that is difficult to disprove. The
journal appears to be based in India and appears somewhat "dodgy"! One
of the editorial board is listed as being USA based: Dr Bal K Gautam,
Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA ,
USA. I might check him out ...
>
> Stephen
>
> --------------------------------------------
> On Thu, 22/9/16, Laurent Raty <l.raty at skynet.be> wrote:
>
>  Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Return of the digital taxa
>  To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
>  Received: Thursday, 22 September, 2016, 9:59 PM
>
>  A "collection"
>  where the type(s) are intended to be deposited must be
>  designated and its location given *IF* the
>  types are extant specimens.
>  (The whole
>  purpose of this provision being to make it as easy as
>  possible for a subsequent worker to re-locate
>  the type series -- and put
>  an end to
>  situations where this subsequent author had to use "any
>
>  evidence, published or unpublished,"
>  to guess where he might find the
>  types.)
>
>  But anyway, the first problem
>  here doesn't seem to be the depository.
>  The first problem is that the journal is
>  electronic, and the paper lacks
>  a ZooBank
>  registration, thus it is wholly unpublished and *nothing* in
>
>  it is nomenclaturally relevant.
>
>  The description is fake as
>  well, by the way, not just the images -- 99%
>  of the text being an evident 'remix' of
>  the description of Thaumaglossa
>  mroczkowskii by Háva & Kadej 2005.
>
>  As michael noted, it seems
>  impossible to understand such a behaviour if
>  it comes from a professional scientist, as it
>  can only be damaging for
>  him. But do we
>  necessarily need to accept that it really happened..? One
>
>  possible purpose for such a 'paper'
>  may be to create a fake publication
>  track
>  for a 'predatory' journal, in order to attract
>  submissions.
>
>  Laurent -
>
>
>  On 09/22/2016 10:23 AM,
>  Derek Sikes wrote:
>  > Neal,
>  >
>  > "The names are
>  nomina nuda because the author failed to designate a type
>  > depository for each — a common
>  > mistake unfortunately."
>  >
>  > Could you clarify
>  this further? If a depository designation is needed to
>  > avoid names becoming nomina nuda, then how
>  is it possible to name a species
>  > based
>  only on a photo? (As it seems it is). If the type is running
>  around
>  > free, it can't have a
>  depository. I'd appreciate knowing where in the code
>  > this is spelled out. Thanks! (I'm
>  teaching systematics now and we've
>  >
>  covered these descriptions based on photographed but
>  uncollected types...)
>  >
>  > -Derek
>  >
>  > On Wed, Sep 21, 2016 at 7:54 PM, Neal
>  Evenhuis <neale at bishopmuseum.org>
>  > wrote:
>  >
>  >> Actually …
>  >>
>  >> This has
>  nothing to do with publishing based on a photograph only.
>  A
>  >> holotype is clearly listed as
>  examined. The names are nomina nuda because
>  >> the author failed to designate a type
>  depository for each — a common
>  >>
>  mistake unfortunately.
>  >>
>  >> What is troublesome in the paper that
>  you refer to that points out that
>  >>
>  these are nomina nuda, is the conclusion for each name says
>  the opposite!
>  >> That they are
>  “available”.
>  >>
>  >> Simply, sloppy descriptions and sloppy
>  review of the sloppy descriptions.
>  >>
>  >> -Neal
>  >>
>  >>
>  >>
>  >>
>  >> On Stardate 9/21/16, 5:40 PM,
>  "Taxacom on behalf of JF Mate"
>  >> <taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
>  on behalf of aphodiinaemate at gmail.com>
>  >> wrote:
>  >>
>  >>> It seems taxonomy fraudsters have
>  cottoned on the fact that
>  >>>
>  descriptions no longer require "dead bodies". A
>  description of a new
>  >>>
>  Dermestidae was published in Entomology and Applied Science
>  Letters.
>  >>> Fortunately the author
>  was pretty lazy and it ended up being a nomen
>  >>> nudum. Reference to original
>  article and link to article uncovering
>  >>> the dirty deed below.
>  >>>
>  >>>
>  Jason
>  >>>
>  >>> Original article: Description of a
>  new species of the genus
>  >>>
>  Thaumaglossa (COLEOPTERA: Dermestidae: Megatominae) of the
>  Astrakhan
>  >>> Region of Russia.
>  >>> Entomology and Applied Science
>  Letters, 2016, 3, 4: 12-14.
>  >>>
>  >>>
>  >>> https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308163532_New_
>  >> Faunistic_Records_a
>  >>>
>  nd_remarks_on_Dermestidae_Coleoptera_-_Part_15
>  >>>
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