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

Paul van Rijckevorsel dipteryx at freeler.nl
Thu Mar 30 05:06:09 CDT 2023


Well, that interpretation would be a personal choice
(very likely not unique). As you say, for automatically
typified names the ending -/phyta/ does indicate a rank.
But outside that context this is just a word element that
can be used in a plural noun. "Phytum" is a noun by itself.

On the other hand, the ending -/idae/ by itself does not
mean anything; it is an ending to turn a word into a
plural adjective, which in turn is meaningful only when
used together with the (implied) noun "plantae". So, for
just about everybody the ending -/idae/ is used in only one
instance (in only one meaning, denoting a rank). It is
fairly heavily implied that if it is used, even for a
not-automatically typified name, that it is intended to
denote rank.

It is a matter of perspective: when I see an ending -/phyta/
I am not assuming any rank, just like when I see the name
/Magnoliophyta/ I am not assuming that I have any idea
what kind of group is intended (one author's circumscription
of a /Magnoliophyta/ can differ by orders of magnitude from
another author's use of that name).

Paul


//
On 30-Mar-23 10:21, Tony Rees wrote:
> Thanks, Paul for your thoughts. I would, however take slight issue 
> with your third sentence; for typified names, -phyta does signify that 
> rank = Division (=Phylum), even if literally it just means "plants", 
> thus in the Code:
>
> /16.3./ Automatically typified names end as follows: the name of a 
> division or phylum ends in /‑//phyta,/ unless it is referable to the 
> fungi in which case it ends in /‑//mycota;/ the name of a subdivision 
> or subphylum ends in /‑//phytina,/ unless it is referable to the fungi 
> in which case it ends in /‑//mycotina;/ the name of a class in the 
> algae ends in /‑//phyceae,/ and of a subclass in /‑//phycidae;/ the 
> name of a class in the fungi ends in /‑//mycetes,/ and of a subclass 
> in /‑//mycetidae;/ the name of a class in the plants ends in 
> /‑//opsida,/ and of a subclass in /‑//idae/ (but not /‑//viridae/). 
> Automatically typified names with a termination not in accordance with 
> this rule or Art. 17.1 
> <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.iapt-taxon.org%2Fnomen%2Fpages%2Fmain%2Fart_17.html%23Art17.1&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C1eaf5aaf958f40b5a43b08db31066529%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638157675776989390%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=1gBuu2D4jLQkHU3WBUKIsXdybELNSiQmWNLYI309GJg%3D&reserved=0> are 
> to be corrected, without change of authorship or date of publication 
> (see Art. 32.2 
> <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.iapt-taxon.org%2Fnomen%2Fpages%2Fmain%2Fart_32.html%23Art32.2&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C1eaf5aaf958f40b5a43b08db31066529%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638157675776989390%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ZdsSZlQrmz9UYZ1kJ96P0wcVfhoc4NwEtdsmhDeXiLE%3D&reserved=0>).
>
> So, using the same as an implied rank indication for descriptive names 
> is at least consistent, as well as per user expectations...
>
> Tony Rees, New South Wales, Australia
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fabout.me%2FTonyRees&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C1eaf5aaf958f40b5a43b08db31066529%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638157675776989390%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=0iyYnOEC0WKb6rMa4N7JxWOgb5t%2BpkQukc9vITJYbJE%3D&reserved=0
>
>
> On Thu, 30 Mar 2023 at 19:10, Paul van Rijckevorsel via Taxacom 
> <taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:
>
>     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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