To all who puzzle over this species issue:
Please read and re-read Gary Rosenberg's "Conchatenations" in this month's
American Conchologist [27 (3)]. This essay touches on many of the
procedures and scientific rigors that go into distinguishing a (molluscan)
species.
Harry
At 11:33 PM 9/29/99 +0000, you wrote:
> RoseSea asked: <who decides a "new" species or genus or whatever is
>truly new and is validly added to the list of inhabitants of this earth.
> Is it a whim?>
> Well, sometimes it certainly seems like a whim, in retrospect - when
>one contemplates the lenghtĄ list of synonyms for species such as Conus
>mediterraneous Hwass for example, there does seem to be more than a
>little "wishful thinking" involved!! (a synonym, by the way, is just a
>name which someone proposed for a species which proved on second look,
>to be a previously-named species: so each time someone describes a
>species which already HAS a valid scientific name, a synonym for that
>species is born!). However, there is a well-defined process for
>describing new species: ***could someone who has actually completed the
>process themselves perhaps give a summary?***
> As far as who decides whether a proposed species (or other taxa, such
>as a new genus or family) is "valid" or not, this is a process of
>scientific consensus: when something is published in the scientific
>literature, it is up to the peers of the author to figure out whether or
>not his or her proposals are "valid": usually, given the rigorous
>process of review in most journals (which is partly why people such as
>Emanuel Velekovski (sp?) and Von Daniken usually write books instead!!),
>there is at least SOME validity to most proposals these days, but it is
>up to the scientific community as a whole to decide just how much:
>sometimes the debate goes on for years, especially in taxonomy
>(Pectinidae is a first-class example of this!!!). However, with
>proposed species, once someone well-known has either confirmed or added
>to the first author's work, or presented evidence that they should be
>lumped together with a previously-described species (ie, placed in
>synonomy), the matter is usually fairly "settled", and the "new" species
>is either accepted or rejected by most (with notable exeptions, of course!!).
>--
>Ross Mayhew: Schooner Specimen Shells:
>Http://www.schnr-specimen-shells.com
>"We Specialize in the Unusual"
>Phone: (902) 876-2241; Fax: (603) 909-8552.
>But try to find "something for Everyone"!!
>Snail Mail: 349 Herring Cove Rd, P.O Box 20005, Halifax, N.S., Canada,
>B3R 2K9.
>
Harry G. Lee
Suite 500
1801 Barrs St.
Jacksonville, Fl. 32204
USA 904-384-6419
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Visit the Jacksonville Shell Club Home Page at:
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