>At least the status of subspecies are more clear. Subspecific names have NO
>taxonomic standing and are generally frowned upon by authorities. Best not
>to use them; if definitely conspecific, consider the subspecific name an
>outright synonym. If consistently and distinctly different, consider it a
>separate species.

Subspecific names certainly do have taxonomic status, both in the
procedural and biological sense. Subspecific names compete with specific
names for homonymy, among other things. In a biological sense, subspecies
are important to zoogeographic studies. And for conservation biology they
can be very important, as the case of the squirrels vs telescope in the
western USA clearly demonstrated.




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 G Thomas Watters
 Ohio Biological Survey &
 Aquatic Ecology Laboratory
 Ohio State University
 1315 Kinnear Road
 Columbus, OH 43212 USA
 v: 614-292-6170  f: 614-292-0181
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"The world is my oyster except for months with an 'R' in them" - Firesign
Theater

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he
has to buy a license" - GTW