Taxacom: Question to botanical experts RE ICNafp Code - rank changes for descriptive names, with changed termination

Thu Mar 30 03:08:23 CDT 2023

The /ICNafp/ makes no distinction between descriptive
names with an ending that implies a rank and names
without such an ending.

It seems likely that authors do. So/Eophytidae/ Edwards,
Morris, Axe, Duckett, Pressel&Kenrick (2021) can be
used (unaltered in spelling and with that exact authorship)
in any rank above that of family, but it seems unlikely
that this will be popular (presumably somebody looking
for a name at the rank of class may well be inclined to
publish a new name /Eophytopsida/).

A name like /Chlorophyta/ is just a Latin word (originating
in Greek) for "green plants" and it would be a personal
choice to say that the -/phyta/ implies a rank.

Or to put it differently, if the authors of/Eophytidae/
intended to publish a name that could easily be used
generally, in any rank, they would have done better to
publish a name in the form of /Eophyta/, or /Eospermae/,
etc.

There probably should be a Recommendation against
publishing descriptive names with endings that imply a
rank.

Paul

On 30-Mar-23 04:27, Tony Rees via Taxacom wrote:
> Thanks Richard... however as I see it, there is a distinction, not
> commented upon in the Code, between descriptive names that do not carry any
> rank connotation - such as "Angiospermae" - and those that do, such as
> "Chlorophyta" - the latter used almost exclusively to denote a Division
> (Phylum), while at class level it is Chlorophyceae. I would contend that
> "Eophytidae" carries the implied rak of subclass, as explained by the
> authors who created the name, and that it would be perfectly reasonable -
> in fact to be expected - for the termination to be changed if it were
> re-used at another rank...
>
> After all, the Code says that descriptive names " _may_ be used unchanged
> at different ranks", not " _must_ be used..." (my emphasis).
>
> Regards - Tony
>
>
> On Thu, 30 Mar 2023 at 12:34, Richard Rabeler<rabeler at umich.edu>  wrote:
>
>> Dear Tony:
>>
>> An interesting question to which I will offer an observation.
>>
>>  From my reading of your explanation and the relevant Code sections, it
>> looks like a descriptive name is not subject to following the terminations
>> for ranks above family.  Those endings are noted in Sect. 16.3 which begins:
>>
>> *16.3.* Automatically typified names end as follows:
>>
>> That may explain the statements noting that descriptive names "may be
>> used unchanged at different ranks"; they are not subject to standard
>> terminations.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Rich Rabeler, MICH
>>
>> On Wed, Mar 29, 2023 at 6:01 PM Tony Rees via Taxacom <
>> taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear all,
>>>
>>> I am seeking advice as to how a descriptive name above the rank of family
>>> can be re-used, with a change in termination (to signify changed rank)
>>> with
>>> or without a change in cited authorship and/or "stat. nov." - the latter
>>> presumably requiring a formal publication.
>>>
>>> The name in question is Eophytidae Edwards, Morris, Axe, Duckett, Pressel
>>> &
>>> Kenrick, 2021, erected as a subclass within class Embryopsida, consistent
>>> with the treatment of land plants by Chase & Reveal, 2009, except that
>>> "Embryopsida" replaces the latter's "Equisetopsida".
>>>
>>> This name is erected at a similar rank to bryophytes, marchantiophytes
>>> atc.
>>> which are at equivalent rank i.e. subclass in the Chase & Reveal
>>> treatment.
>>> However in other treatments such as that of Ruggiero et al., 2015,
>>> followed
>>> in my own IRMNG system and elsewhere, bryyophytes, etc. are treated as
>>> separate phyla within Embryophyta, which is represented as a superphylum.
>>>
>>> So my requirement is to treat the "eophytes" (presently Eophytidae) as a
>>> separate phylum, e.g. "Eophyta", where it will sit alongside
>>> Anthocerotophyta, Bryophyta, Charophyta and so on. Note here, "Eophytidae"
>>> is a "descriptive name" per the ICNafp (not based on a genus) so falls
>>> under the provisions of Arts. 16 and 6.10, thus:
>>> -------------
>>> Article 16.1 Names above the rank of family
>>> "… descriptive names … may be used unchanged at different ranks"
>>> -------------
>>> Article 6.10 Note 3
>>> Note 3. A descriptive name (Art. 16.1(b)) used at a rank different from
>>> that at which it was first validly published is not a name at new rank
>>> because descriptive names may be used unchanged at different ranks.
>>> -------------
>>> So one reading of this is that Eophytidae may be recast as "Eophyta" (with
>>> the same circumscription) without a change of authorship, and not
>>> requiring
>>> a published "stat. nov.". However the alternative reading would be that a
>>> published change of authorship would be needed, plus a "stat. nov.", since
>>> although the initial portion of the name is unchanged, the termination is
>>> -
>>> in other words the name is not "unchanged" in the sense of Art. 16.1.
>>>
>>> Thoughts, advice appreciated.
>>>
>>> Tony Rees, New South Wales, Australia
>>>
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