Moderator note: This message from Yves Tessier includes several items
interspersed with his comments.-----------Johnnie
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
THE INTERNET AS AN EXTENSION OF OUR REFERENCE CAPACITY
A few weeks ago, I received from a highly specialised researcher the
rather difficult question for which I posted a request for help on
Carta and Maps-L:
"I try to locate a place called CUBILQUITZENSIS (or without ending sis)
somewhere in Mexico, Central America or The Carribean. A rare tree
species is assumed to be named after this place. Could somebody help? "
I received a few replies locating the place exactly, among which was
this very comprehensive one:
From: [log in to unmask] (J.D.Weintraub)
Subject: Re: Cubilquitzensis, where?
Date: Friday, September 8, 1995 at 12:00:48 pm
Attach: Headers.822
Certify: N
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Yves:
In response to your query concerning the whereabouts of
"Cubilquitzensis",
when plants or animals are named after their place of origin, the
latinized
form adds "ensis", so the place you are looking for is "Cubilquitz".
The
problem is best approached from a biological rather than cartographic
point
of view: Any experienced botanist will know that the key to locating
this
place is the original description of the tree species in question. The
problem with going straight to the local map library is that biologists
are
notoriously unreliable when it comes to spelling/transcribing place
names
(they are often spelled the way they sound, or things other than place
names
that the early plant/animal collectors heard from the locals are
mistaken for
place names!!). So, you have to check the original description of the
plant
in question - I assume it is a species of _Dalbergia_, as the on-line
database
of Western Hemisphere plant names at the Gray Herbarium (Harvard)
produced the
following two references when I searched it using "cubilquitzensis":
Dalbergia cubilquitzensis Pittier
Journ. Wash. Acad. Sci. 12: 56. 1922.
Dalbergia variabilis var. cubilquitzensis Donn. Sm
Bot. Gaz. 57: 417. 1914. - Guatemala
The complete reference for the paper in which the first of the above
two
plant species was described is:
Pittier, H. 1922. On the species of Dalbergia of Mexico and
Central America. J. Wash. Acad. Sci. Vol. 12, No. 3: pp.
54-64.
Note that one of the records narrowed the *type locality* (place where
the species was originally collected) down to Guatemala.
Checking either of the above references would reveal that the type
locality of both plants was as follows:
"Cubilquitz, Dept. Alta Verapaz, Guatemala"
This was the spelling used by the plant collector H. von Tuerckheim
when
the first specimens were collected and documented in Feb.1913 (as you
are
well aware, place names and their preferred spellings also change
through
time - another reason it is important to consult the botanical
literature
first so you know the "antiquity" of the name you are dealing with).
Only after seeking this info. did I bother to check the DMA Gazetteer
of
Guatemala which reveals the current place name applicable to this
collecting
site:
Finca Cubilhuitz (a farm) [15 40'N 90 25'W]
Hope the above is what your client is looking for. If they need any
further
help or information, feel free to pass my e-mail address on to them.
Cheers,
Jason
**************************************
* J.D. Weintraub *
* Department of Entomology *
* Academy of Natural Sciences *
* 1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. *
* Philadelphia, PA 19103-1195 *
* tel(215)2991189;fax(215)2991028 *
* e-mail: [log in to unmask] *
**************************************
As you can see , I received a very thoroughly documented reply I could
ever dream of, and was very proud to deliver it to my researcher. I
expressed my most sincere thanks to Dr Weintraub and ask him permission
to share it with you, for a case I wanted to make of Internet as an
extension of a map librarian's reference capacity. I was wondering how
a biologist had come upon my request. Here is his reply:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yves,
You are welcome to use my reply to your query as an example of
"Internet resources" for map librarians. I came upon your request
regarding the location of "Cubilquitz" because I too subscribe to
the "MAPS-L" (Maps and Air Photo Systems Forum) discussion group.
Maps, atlases, and gazetteers are important resources for biologists,
especially those specializing in the systematics and biogeography of
plants and animals. I have often directed questions about unknown
localities from biological specimen data to various members of the
"map library community" on MAPS-L (and have often received surprisingly
helpful responses). I therefore try to reciprocate when the occasional
question requiring biological expertise pops up!
Cheers,
Jason
**************************************
For those of you (like me) who sometimes consider participating to
discussion lists as a time-consuming activity, remember Dr Weintraub's
testimony on the usefulness of sharing expertise over Internet and the
power of this tool to extend our own capacity of accessing relevant
information for our users, whereever the location. Good words of
appreciation to list postmasters too! And thanks again to Dr Weintraub
for his amenity and his sense of reciprocity!
THE INTERNET AS AN EXTENSION OF OUR REFERENCE CAPACITY!
****************************************************************
Yves Tessier
Cartotheque Tel.: 418.656.2002
Bibliotheque de l'Universite Laval Fax: 418.656.7793
Quebec, Canada G1K 7P4 [log in to unmask]
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