Taxacom: demystifying gender agreement ( was Re: Removals ofoffending scientific names)

[George Beccaloni]

Hopefully the ICZN isn't a dictatorship... If not, perhaps it should
consult taxonomists worldwide and give them a vote about continuing or
abandoning gender agreement.

George

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*Dr George Beccaloni FLS*
*Director, Alfred Russel Wallace Correspondence Project*

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On Mon, 26 Jun 2023 at 18:02, Douglas Yanega via Taxacom <
taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:

> On 6/26/23 2:53 AM, Geoff Read via Taxacom wrote:
> > As a database editor I can have great difficulty in ascertaining the
> gender of a genus, because it isn't stated, and the derivation of the name
> is obscure and unresolvable.
> > Sometimes the view of the gender assignment oscillates between masculine
> and feminine with successive authors over the decades. Who is right?
> > The other unnecessary problem is that authors don't think it necessary
> to explain themselves when they suddenly change the gender endings within a
> genus. It's beneath them to help out in that way.
> > So, lacking the explanation, we try to find the evidence for ourselves.
> This is a terrific waste of my time.
>
> I agree, it IS a waste of your time.
>
> If there was a single list to consult that told you *instantly and
> definitively* what gender any given genus is, and another list that told
> you whether or not an epithet is subject to changes in spelling (and
> what those changes are), do you think that this would resolve this
> particular issue?
>
> Don't give in to the Dark Side.
>
> 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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>          is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82
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