[Taxacom] Taxonomy - crisis, what crisis?

[Stephen Thorpe]

the crucial point is that *some* things can be described in short, simple terms, while other things *cannot*
 
take ants for example: they are usually described from workers (no genitalia), so all they have is external morphology (and DNA, but that is another issue). So, a good written description of the salient features of the external morphology, along with a good illustration or two, and that's all you need. No special preservation methods are required (just kill and dry), so it can all be done very quickly ...

From: Cristian Ruiz Altaba <cruizaltaba at dgcc.caib.es>
To: Stephen Thorpe <stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz>
Cc: Kim van der Linde <kim at kimvdlinde.com>; Neal Evenhuis <neale at bishopmuseum.org>; Roderic Page <r.page at bio.gla.ac.uk>; taxacom <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
Sent: Friday, 7 October 2011 9:33 AM
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Taxonomy - crisis, what crisis?




Well, I can illustrate this with what is going on with Hydrobiidae s.l. (spring snails). 

Take for example Hershler's work on these tiny freshwater snails in the arid soutwestern US. He has described a lot of good species with rather concise, unequivocal descriptions. On the other side, a lot of the European taxonomy on the same family is generally likewise short --but the difference is in quality, with very few papers nearing what is has become standard on the other side of the Atlantic. 

Once you get SEM pictures of tiny shells, it's all too easy to play stamp collecting! Looking at the animals themselves and their anatomy (and understanding it) is quite another matter. 

So in effect in malacology we have a divergence: good science going ahead, and stamp collecting on fast-forward towards nowhere. Or making a mess, I would say.

Best,

Cristian

Cristian R. Altaba
DG Medi Natural, Educació Ambiental i Canvi Climàtic
Conselleria d'Agricultura, Medi Ambient i Territori
Govern de les Illes Balears

-----taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu ha escrit: -----


Per a: Kim van der Linde <kim at kimvdlinde.com>, Neal Evenhuis <neale at bishopmuseum.org>, Roderic Page <r.page at bio.gla.ac.uk>, taxacom <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
>De: Stephen Thorpe <stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz>
>Enviat per: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
>Data: 06/10/2011 21:59
>Assumpte: Re: [Taxacom] Taxonomy - crisis, what crisis?
>
>I suspect that the reasons why descriptions are becoming more and more detailed is somewhat more complex than that. Many species still could be perfectly adequately diagnosed in a short, concise paragraph. I supect that sociological/economic factors are at play ...
> 
>just my 1 cent!
> 
>Stephen
>
>From: Kim van der Linde <kim at kimvdlinde.com>
>To: Neal Evenhuis <neale at bishopmuseum.org>; Roderic Page <r.page at bio.gla.ac.uk>; taxacom <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
>Sent: Friday, 7 October 2011 7:37 AM
>Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Taxonomy - crisis, what crisis?
>
>
>
>On 10/5/2011 4:05 PM, Neal Evenhuis wrote:
>> I think their analysis missed a very important point.
>>
>> They say that given the decline in numbers of species described per
>> taxonomist since 1950 there must be a declining pool of species. This
>> does not take into account that some taxonomists are simply not
>> publishing new taxa anymore
>
>I suspect that we see a reduction in species descriptions in part by the 
>ever increasing size of those descriptions. The descriptions become more 
>and more detailed so that we can distinguish more and more species, but 
>that takes more and more time to do.
>
>Just my 2 cents.
>
>Kim
>
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