[Taxacom] Can the type species of a genus be a synonym within its own genus?

[Tony Rees]

Thanks, Doug and Francisco, for your helpful replies.

Regards - Tony

Tony Rees, New South Wales, Australia
https://about.me/TonyRees

On 18 May 2018 at 09:26, Francisco Welter-Schultes <fwelter at gwdg.de> wrote:

> Dear Tony,
> It is not necessary that the type species of a genus must be in current
> usage as the valid name of a species. It can be a junior synonym just like
> familiaris is a junior synonym of C. lupus for those who consider
> familiaris and lupus conspecific.
> The type species can also be used as the valid name for a subspecies, for
> those who like to follow MSW 2005 and consider familiaris and lupus as
> different subspecies.
>
> The type species can also be a junior synonym of a subspecies.
> The type species can even be a nomen dubium at the level of species,
> provided that its generic identity is doubtless.
>
> The type species is always the nominal species, and should be cited in its
> original genus-species combination, not in its current combination.
>
> If C. familiaris is the type of Canis, fixed by Linnean tautonymy in the
> original source, this will remain the type species of that genus,
> regardless of the classification of that name with respect to Canis lupus.
> Canis lupus must not be cited as and will not become the type species of
> Canis, neither if familiaris is regarded as a subspecies of lupus, nor as a
> synonym.
>
> If this helps
> Francisco
>
>
> -----
> Francisco Welter-Schultes
>
>
> Am 18.05.2018 um 00:19 schrieb Tony Rees:
>
>> Dear Taxacomers,
>>
>> I was looking again at the various taxonomic treatments that have been
>> proposed for the domestic dog, Canis (or Canis Lupus) familiaris, and by
>> extension the dingo as mentioned a little while back. There seems to be
>> general agreement that the dog is derived from the gray wolf Canis lupus
>> by
>> domestication, or perhaps from an extinct subspecies of the latter (as
>> briefly discussed on Taxacom a few years back, see
>> http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/pipermail/taxacom/2013-December/126549.html and
>> successive messages). Both the epithets familiaris and lupus are on the
>> ICZN Official list, by virtue of Direction 22 (which dealt with familiaris
>> as the type specis of Canis) here:
>> https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34652714 , and Opinion 2027 (
>> https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34357823) which dealt with the names
>> of wild forms versus domesticated forms of the same taxon (thereby placing
>> lupus on the list).
>>
>> The influential "Mammal Species of the World" (MSW) , 2005 edition seems
>> largely responsible for the present prevalence of treating familiaris as a
>> subspecies of lupus. My question is, if familiaris is the type species of
>> the genus, this treatment effectively synonymizes familiaris with lupus at
>> species level, which I am thinking should not be possible under relevant
>> nomenclatural rules.
>>
>> It is quite likely that I am wrong in this regard but I would be happy to
>> educated further with respect to the question as posed, namely, can the
>> type species of a genus be a synonym (at species level) within its own
>> genus, or should in fact the wolf become Canis familiaris if the two taxa
>> are not separated at species level (irrespective of what  Opinion 2027 has
>> to say).
>>
>> Looking forward to your comments,
>>
>> Regards - Tony
>>
>> Tony Rees, New South Wales, Australia
>> https://about.me/TonyRees
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