Taxacom: Subspecies PROBABLY described

[David Campbell]

I would interpret the "reservations" disqualifying it to refer to whether
this is a new species, rather than being tentative about whether the genus
assignment is correct.  (As another example, Gardner (1939) stated that "
*Bolis* is referred to the hospitable group of the Buccinidae with no
conviction."  when describing the new genus *Bolis*.)

Reservations about the genus assignment do become an issue relating to
subsequent type designations - what species are eligible to select as the
type?  For example, must the type species of a genus have been referred to
the nominal subgenus in the original paper, if there was no designation of
a type species?  Rafinesque managed to put all species into different
subgenera and not include anything in the nominal subgenus for some of his
unionid work.

On Thu, Feb 24, 2022 at 8:42 AM David Redei via Taxacom <
taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:

> Uh oh, then I will need to be more careful in the future. A few years ago I
> published a paper in which I wrote this sentence: "It is with considerable
> hesitation that the new species described in this paper is placed into
> Sagriva, ..." Art. 11.9.3. says, "A species-group name must be published in
> unambiguous combination with a generic name" (otherwise it is unavailable).
> Now I started to worry that one day someone will come forward and argue
> that my phrase "with considerable hesitation" indicates that the
> combination was not unambiguous, so my inclusion of the new species in the
> taxon at a higher rank (genus) was made with "stated reservations",
> therefore my new species is unavailable... Is there any sense in this? I
> mean, does it support stability? Why does the Code prohibit expression of
> uncertainty and the possibility of error in otherwise properly and
> explicitly proposed taxonomic acts?
>
> David Redei
>
>
>
-- 
Dr. David Campbell
Associate Professor, Geology
Department of Natural Sciences
110 S Main St, #7270
Gardner-Webb University
Boiling Springs NC 28017