Sorry, hit the wrong button.....

One could designate a neotype....., see the ICZN code for how to do so.

Gijs

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> Van: Kurt Auffenberg <[log in to unmask]>
> Aan: [log in to unmask]
> Onderwerp: Re: More question on syntypes or cotypes
> Datum: dinsdag 6 juli 1999 15:50
>
> Emilio,
> Clench did not designate a lectotype because it would have been improper
to
> do so.  I'm not sure where Poey's collection is, if it's even extant, but
> it's probably not at MCZ.
>
> The specimen that is to be designated the lectotype should be the figured
> specimen (if the species was figured) or one from the original lot (the
> figured specimen probably is from the original lot) (cotypes or
syntypes).
> The difficult task at hand if you can not determine which specimen was
> figured, etc. is which one of the syntypes to use as a lectotype.  To
> determine this a researcher should examine all material from as many
> institutions as possible.  This is an enormous amount of work and takes a
> lot of time (and some money, postage, etc.).  This is one reason why
> researchers don't crank out one monograph after another.  There's a lot
of
> downtime.
>
> If there is any doubt whether a potential lectotype exists in another
> institution which you do not have access to at the time, it's best to
leave
> it alone.  Case in point .....several years ago two terrestrial species
> from NW India had lectotypes selected from the Indian Museum in Calcutta.
> They had both been described by Benson.  What the later authors did not
> know is that those specimens could not have possibly been syntypes (and
so,
> seen by Benson).  Their line of reasoning was .....the species were from
> India, Benson worked in India, the Indian Museum had specimens from
Benson,
> they must be syntypes.  Wrong!  Benson collected those later, well after
> the species were described.  All the syntypes are in the British Museum.
> The lectotype designations are not necessarily valid and this causes
> problems for the next person.......me.  Bummer.
>
> Next question to pose.....what happens when a researcher has exhausted
all
> the sources for potential lectotypes and none fit.....what does she/he do
> then????
>
> First one to send the correct answer gets free admission to the
exhibition
> hall at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
>
> Kurt
>
>
>  Why did he not simply select a lectotype?
> >
> >--
> >
> >Later,
> >
> >Emilio Jorge Power