[Taxacom] unflagged classification change question

[Stephen Thorpe]

I think my response was pretty much the same as Mike's, but, for the sake of the bigger picture, a little bit more comment is necessary: 

Mike said: People get the idea somehow that there is a single correct classification and that the last published  usage is "in force."

There is actually a bit of a can of worms here, depending on what one means exactly by "people"? Taxonomists writing for other taxonomists is one scenario. Their audience (i.e. other taxonomists) are likely to have taxonomic opinions which either agree or disagree on each alternative. What is more interesting, perhaps, is taxonomists writing for "taxonomy users" (i.e. people who are not themselves taxonomists, like for example ecologists, etc.) "Taxonomy users" are unlikely to have opinions of their own regarding which one of two (or more) alternative classifications is to be preferred, which makes things rather difficult for them. I suspect that they tend to look to "consensus", but that can be very difficult to determine in practice. Many might well choose to adopt the "last published" opinion as being "preferred", all other things being equal. "Bureaucrat types" (e.g. govt. biosecurity authorities), in my experience, tend to gravitate towards "official looking" websites like GBIF, for example, to "choose for them." The end result is inevitably somewhat chaotic and not exactly ideal!

Stephen

--------------------------------------------
On Tue, 12/6/18, Michael A. Ivie <mivie at montana.edu> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [Taxacom] unflagged classification change question
 To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
 Received: Tuesday, 12 June, 2018, 7:12 AM
 
 People get the idea somehow that
 there is a single correct 
 classification
 and that the last published  usage is "in force."
 In 
 fact, there are many cases where one
 person uses a broad species concept 
 with a
 synonym included, another  considers the species to have
 multiple 
 subspecies one of which is that
 synonym, and a third considers there to 
 be
 two species.  These can all publish simultaneously, and be
 fully 
 understood if they simply clarify
 their usage.  It is not that the last 
 person to publish is the one that is
 "official," there is no 
 "official."  And, you don't have
 to discuss it every time, just list the 
 name you use, and a synonymical table for those
 names used by others 
 that you consider the
 same.  No real discussion is needed if this is 
 simply a parallel classification situation. 
 HOWEVER, very often people 
 use names from
 older pubs not knowing they have been changed. 
 Particularly common with ecologists,
 conservationists and economic 
 practitioners.  That is just a mistake, not a
 taxonomic change, and just 
 cite the usage
 without a lot of fanfare.
 
 Mike
 
 
 On 6/11/2018 12:58 PM, John Grehan wrote:
 > I'd go for B. Not that I am
 necessarily an authority on anything :)
 >
 > John Grehan
 >
 > On Mon, Jun 11, 2018
 at 2:52 PM, Derek Sikes <dssikes at alaska.edu>
 wrote:
 >
 >> All,
 >>
 >> For those of
 you who keep track of one or more taxonomic classifications
 on
 >> which you are an authority...
 >>
 >> I'd like
 to know how you'd react to the following (all
 too-realistic)
 >> hypothetical
 scenario:
 >>
 >>
 *You find a publication by Smith in which a species name
 that you feel had
 >> been justifiably
 made a junior synonym some years earlier, was treated as
 a
 >> valid species with no explanation
 for the change. *
 >>
 >> In the next publication you produce on
 the group do you:
 >>
 >> A) list it as a valid species citing
 Smith's publication
 >>
 >> B) re-synonymize it, cite Smith, and
 explain that there was no evidence
 >>
 offered by Smith for the change
 >>
 >> C) ignore (don't cite) Smith and
 list it as a junior synonym
 >>
 >> D) something else? (& for this
 hypothetical, imagine Smith recently died)
 >>
 >> Thanks,
 >> Derek
 >>
 >> --
 >>
 >> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 >> Derek S. Sikes, Curator of Insects
 >> Associate Professor of Entomology
 >> University of Alaska Museum
 >> 1962 Yukon Drive
 >> Fairbanks, AK   99775-6960
 >>
 >> dssikes at alaska.edu
 >>
 >> phone:
 907-474-6278
 >> FAX: 907-474-5469
 >>
 >> University of
 Alaska Museum  -  search 400,276 digitized arthropod
 records
 >> http://arctos.database.museum/uam_ento_all
 >> <http://www.uaf.edu/museum/collections/ento/>
 >> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 >>
 >> Interested in
 Alaskan Entomology? Join the Alaska Entomological
 >> Society and / or sign up for the email
 listserv "Alaska Entomological
 >>
 Network" at
 >> http://www.akentsoc.org/contact_us
 <http://www.akentsoc.org/contact.php>
 >>
 _______________________________________________
 >> Taxacom Mailing List
 >> Send Taxacom mailing list submissions
 to: Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
 >>
 >> http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
 >> The Taxacom Archive back to 1992 may
 be searched at:
 >> http://taxacom.markmail.org
 >> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the
 Web, visit:
 >> http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
 >> You can reach the person managing the
 list at:
 >> taxacom-owner at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
 >>
 >> Nurturing
 Nuance while Assaulting Ambiguity for 31 Some Years,
 1987-2018.
 >>
 >
 _______________________________________________
 > Taxacom Mailing List
 >
 Send Taxacom mailing list submissions to: Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
 >
 > http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
 > The Taxacom Archive back to 1992 may be
 searched at: http://taxacom.markmail.org
 > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the Web,
 visit: http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
 > You can reach the person managing the list
 at: taxacom-owner at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
 >
 > Nurturing Nuance
 while Assaulting Ambiguity for 31 Some Years, 1987-2018.
 
 -- 
 __________________________________________________
 
 Michael A. Ivie, Ph.D.,
 F.R.E.S.
 
 NOTE: two
 addresses with different Zip Codes depending on carriers
 
 US Post Office Address:
 Montana Entomology Collection
 Marsh Labs, Room 50
 PO Box
 173145
 Montana State University
 Bozeman, MT 59717
 USA
 
 UPS, FedEx, DHL Address:
 Montana Entomology Collection
 Marsh Labs, Room 50
 1911 West
 Lincoln Street
 Montana State University
 Bozeman, MT 59718
 USA
 
 
 (406)
 994-4610 (voice)
 (406) 994-6029 (FAX)
 mivie at montana.edu
 
 _______________________________________________
 Taxacom Mailing List
 Send
 Taxacom mailing list submissions to: Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
 
 http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
 The Taxacom Archive back to 1992 may be
 searched at: http://taxacom.markmail.org
 To subscribe or unsubscribe via the Web, visit:
 http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
 You can reach the person managing the list at:
 taxacom-owner at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
 
 Nurturing Nuance while
 Assaulting Ambiguity for 31 Some Years, 1987-2018.