Taxacom: Tropicos and gender of names

Tue Feb 8 03:48:02 CST 2022

I'm not going to dive into this thread too deeply, but I will say that using text-string scientific names as unique identifiers for computers is not a viable proposition.  Perhaps it made sense back in the previous century (pre-2000), but the idea of consistent scientific-name text strings for use as computer database identifiers is now long gone. 

The reality is that alternate spellings already exist in both paper and electronic form, so the job of the database is to track the variants and cross-link them. Think of scientific names more as "finding aids", rather than identifiers. It's not the case that we need to standardize on scientific name spellings in order to make our databases work; rather, our databases should be designed to obviate the need for consistent spelling.  In other words, in the modern computer era, we should be aiming for a paradigm where gender agreement (or abandonment thereof) is irrelevant to accessing electronic information cross-linked to scientific names.  I think we're getting close to achieving that paradigm.

Aloha,
Rich

Richard L. Pyle, PhD
Senior Curator of Ichthyology | Director of XCoRE
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum
1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, HI 96817-2704
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Taxacom <taxacom-bounces at lists.ku.edu> On Behalf Of Sharkey,
> Michael J. via Taxacom
> Sent: Monday, February 7, 2022 6:12 PM
> To: Rafaël Govaerts <R.Govaerts at kew.org>; taxacom at lists.ku.edu; Douglas
> Yanega <dyanega at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: Taxacom: Tropicos and gender of names
> 
> Does all of this discourse not make it obvious that gender agreement is a
> Victorian era remnant that has no place in modern, machine-read, names? We
> only need unique identifiers. Complete nonsense. Stick with the original
> spelling regardless.
> 
> Michael Sharkey
> The Hymenoptera Institute
> Professor Emeritus
> University of Kentucky
> (859) 396-1649
> msharkey at uky.edu
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> harkeylab.org%2F&data=04%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C6d66
> a8985e934512a4ee08d9eab91b1b%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a
> %7C0%7C0%7C637798903019849628%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJW
> IjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C
> 3000&sdata=t75zZDse%2BAlKKK0Xze2AZHGh9YN2vmIYepmcVgZfT6U%3
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> ________________________________
> From: Taxacom <taxacom-bounces at lists.ku.edu> on behalf of Douglas Yanega
> via Taxacom <taxacom at lists.ku.edu>
> Sent: Monday, February 7, 2022 7:35 PM
> To: Rafaël Govaerts <R.Govaerts at kew.org>; taxacom at lists.ku.edu
> <taxacom at lists.ku.edu>
> Subject: Re: Taxacom: Tropicos and gender of names
> 
> CAUTION: External Sender
> 
> 
> On 2/7/22 2:16 PM, Rafaël Govaerts wrote:
> > Dear Doug,
> > In Botany, the rule is that the original spelling should be maintained
> > unless it is against one of the articles.
> > So e.g.
> > https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fipni
> > .org%2Fn%2F77142913-
> 1&data=04%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C6d66
> >
> a8985e934512a4ee08d9eab91b1b%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a
> %7C0%7C
> >
> 0%7C637798903019849628%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wL
> jAwMDAiLCJ
> >
> QIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=ol5a
> Qno5N
> > ALTARWkgRLlR4LNhz80bXZfj7HWVFqmhw8%3D&reserved=0
> > Zingiber tenuiscapus is not to be corrected to tenuiscapa as it is
> > correct as a noun.
> >
> > If a choice is possible, e.g. "nanus" in a masculine genus is
> > transferred to a feminine genus and if the author uses "nanus" then
> > that is not correctable as he treats it as a noun. Subsequent authors
> > must then follow that.
> > Unless of course in the original publication it clearly indicated as
> > an adjective.
> 
> Apparently the Tropicos database does not follow this rule.
> 
> Zingiber is treated there as neuter, and it does not list this species.
> It does, however, list both "didymoglossa" and "didymoglossum" under
> Zingiber, both citing the same author and date. There is also a "longiglande"
> which is grammatically impossible, and likewise would appear to be an
> automated algorithm changing all "-is" endings to "-e"
> even if they are genitive noun forms like "glandis".
> 
> Again, I was making two points: (1) not all resources are trustworthy, nor do
> they yield consistent results (2) given this, we would do well to place the
> burden of gender agreement on authoritative nomenclatural registries, rather
> than individual taxonomists.
> 
> >
> > There are many published books indicating the gender of genera,
> > perhaps the best known is
> >
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.
> >
> bgbm.org%2FIAPT%2Fncu%2Fgenera%2FImprintRegVegNCU3.htm&data
> =04%7C0
> >
> 1%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C6d66a8985e934512a4ee08d9eab91b1b%7C
> 3c1765
> >
> 36afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637798903019849628%7CUnk
> nown%7CTW
> >
> FpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXV
> CI6
> >
> Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=4Jx%2Fyd1JEARHwYqk370xgT%2BaorKi4OcE6
> 3yQphRMP3
> > 0%3D&reserved=0
> 
> This seems like precisely the sort of resource I am advocating for all organismal
> names. If all botanists agree to adhere to whatever it says in this source, *and*
> the names there are immune from being disputed and changed, then it is
> EXACTLY what I am advocating: an authoritative nomenclatural registry.
> 
> Peace,
> 
> --
> Doug Yanega      Dept. of Entomology       Entomology Research Museum
> Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314     skype: dyanega
> phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
> 
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