Paolo (and others),

A useful book is Judith E. Winston. 1999. Describing Species: Practical
Taxonomic Procedure for Biologists. Columbia University Press, New York,
NY. 518pp. This book discusses many of the issues brought up in Paolo's
e-mail. It is a good place to start in learning what goes into describing
a new species or genus.

The essential book to read is International Commission on Zoological
Nomenclature. 1999. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature c/o The Natural History
Museum, London. 306pp. In my opinion, if one does not own a copy of "The
Code", then one has no right to describe a new taxon.

The other books mentioned by Paolo are also very useful and sit next to
these two books on my bookshelf.

Regards,
Charlie
******************************************************************************
Charlie Sturm, Jr
Research Associate - Section of Mollusks
                      Carnegie Museum of Natural History
                     Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Assistant Professor - Family Medicine

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