There will be a very interesting and productive symposium on describing new
species of molluscs in the 21st Century, organized by Benoit Dayrat, at the
American Malacological Society annual meeting at Southern Illinois
University June 29-July 3. A substantial general discussion will follow the
presentations.

In advance of that I have two bits of advice:

1. If you know the genus of your hypothesized new species, the first thing
to do is examine the descriptions of all the previously described species in
that genus, to determine whether or not  'yours' has not been described
previously. If you are unsure of the genus, you have to start with the
family, et cetera. (According to the International Code of Zoological
Nomenclature, only descriptions published on or after 1 January 1758 need to
be considered.)

2. Always remember that no honor accrues to the person to describes a new
species, only responsibility. A description of a new species is a
hypothesis. The hypothesis is that this species differs from all others
described in its genus, according to a biological, phylogenetic or other
species concept. Like all hypotheses in science it is impossible to prove,
but it can potentially be refuted. The author's responsibility is to present
all possible relevant evidence pro and con, and to defend strongly his/her
conclusion.

Alan

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