On 16/12/2003 13:05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Peter Kirk scripsit:
On 16/12/2003 09:41, Curtis Clark wrote:
A measure of comparison is the system of biological nomenclature, ...
(not to mention the periodic and sometimes raucous conventions when
the rules are modified).
Probably the secret of its success is the existence of such conventions.
*chuckle*
The first use of "conventions" above means "meetings"; the second means
"rules". Result: a non-meeting of the minds.
Not so! I intended "such conventions" as an explicit reference to the
meetings which Curtis described, although I was also aware of the double
meaning and deliberately didn't cancel it.
If biologists had insisted that names once assigned could not be changed
because of advances in knowledge, or even to correct errors, then surely
the system would have broken down centuries ago.
In fact, Linnaean names are *not* changed for either of those reasons,
nor for any other reason whatsoever: though we now know that Basilosaurus
is a proto-whale and not any sort of reptile, Basilosaurus it will
remain forever.
The only thing that can happen in Linnaean nomenclature is the recognition
that two names are synonymous. In that case, there is a question which
shall be the preferred name, and normally it is the first name published,
but exceptions sometimes occur. Thus when Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus
were found to be synonyms, Apatosaurus was chosen as the preferred
name because it was published first; however, this is not properly
describable as "changing the name of Brontosaurus to 'Apatosaurus'".
"Brontosaurus" is a perfectly good name and may still be used even though
it is dispreferred.
I'm no expert on this... but I thought that species could be transferred
from genus to genus as knowledge advances. And presumably obvious
spelling mistakes are corrected (contrast "FHTORA" in U+1D0C5), or are
you saying that if the first publication had "Brontosuarus" as a typo
this error would remain for ever?
--
Peter Kirk
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (personal)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (work)
http://www.qaya.org/
