Taxacom: replacing un-sequenceable types (was Re: Minimalist revision of Mesochorus)

Douglas Yanega dyanega at gmail.com
Thu Aug 31 10:53:23 CDT 2023


On 8/30/23 9:28 PM, Nick Grishin via Taxacom wrote:
> If these taxonomic groups are worth some serious study, then whole 
> genome shotgun of all Sharkey holotypes is the first step (can be done 
> in 1 week in my lab). Then, whole genome shotgun of all other extant 
> primary types associated with the group and neotype designations (with 
> genomic sequencing) for those that could not be found is next (another 
> week). 

This is an unrealistic estimate. The "all other extant primary types" 
are probably scattered in over a dozen different museums in different 
countries, and you would be lucky if you would be able to get this step 
done within a year, and all that travel will be fairly expensive. Also, 
see my comment below.

>
> More specifically, as an example, a letter from some collection 
> authority stating that DNA sequencing of the type specimen is not 
> possible could be published in a paper and that permanently deprives 
> this specimen from its name-bearing status (i.e. it is considered 
> "lost" for nomenclature and remains a historical specimen without 
> name-bearning value).

I'm not sure you realized when you proposed this just what a proverbial 
bombshell this would be.

Think carefully about this:

Imagine you are the curator of a major collection, and one of the *most 
valuable* parts of your collection is the set of a few hundred type 
specimens from the private collection of a famous taxonomist from the 
early 1800s, maybe SEVERAL famous taxonomists. These types are fragile, 
many in poor condition, and irreplaceable. People come from all over the 
world to examine these types, and you have also invested a large amount 
of money in taking images of them, and putting these images online. They 
are kept in special cabinets in a separate room from the main collection.

Someone then writes to you asking whether all of those types are 
available for molecular sequencing, and you write a response saying 
"None of these specimens is available for such purposes".

A few months later, the person who contacted you publishes a paper in 
which they quote your response, and they summarily declare that *every 
single type specimen in your collection is henceforth no longer a type 
specimen*.

That part of your collection has just gone from being incredibly 
valuable and irreplaceable, to effectively worthless. The money you 
spent on taking images of your specimens has been for nothing. The 
special cabinets and room now contain nothing of any value to anyone, 
and will never be visited again.

Implementing such a provision in the Code might not bother many 
taxonomists, but I doubt that a single museum curator in the world would 
consider this acceptable. You might argue that the purpose of type 
specimens is not to benefit the collections in which they reside, and 
that's true enough - that's admittedly not the PURPOSE of types. But, in 
reality, *they do have that effect*. Types confer prestige. This effect 
influences not only the number of visitors a museum gets, but the amount 
of external support - a very tangible benefit can accrue by virtue of 
being a type repository. You won't generally get an NSF grant to take 
photos of random specimens in your collection, but you CAN get grants to 
take photos of types.

Speaking now as a museum curator:

You're talking about a policy that "sounds good on paper", but would do 
a LOT of collateral damage to most of the world's most prestigious 
collections. It would be analogous to holding a flame thrower in front 
of a cabinet of specimens and saying "Either you let me sequence these, 
or I'll incinerate them". No curator would enjoy being compelled to make 
such a choice, and you could expect some *serious* resistance.

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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