Nomen nudum

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Posted by WW on October 28, 2002 at 08:18:51:

In Reply to: Oxyuranus scutellatus barringeri sp. nov posted by Paul Hackett on October 27, 2002 at 20:49:54:

Having looked again at Hoser's newest description, I have to say that I am entirely unconvinced that the name barringeri is in fact available under the provisions of Article 13 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.

Article 13.1 states the following:

"13.1 Requirements. To be available, every name published after 1930 must satisfy the provisions of Article 11 and must

13.1.1 be accompanied by a description or definition that states in words characters that are purported to differentiate the taxon, or

13.1.2 be accompanied by a bibliographic reference to such a published statement..."

So, let's go through this bit by bit.

Hoser's description does fulfill the requirements of article 11 (various aspects of name formation and so on).

However, by the time we get to 13.1.1, things get a bit more difficult. I can see two attempts at diagnosing the new form:
(i) " Oxyuranus scutellatus barringeri is separated from other Tapians Oxyuranus scutellatus scutellatus and Oxyuranus scutellatus canni by distribution." at the bottom of page 47 of the article, and
(ii) "The three forms are further separated by DNA analysis." at the top of page 48.

Attempt (i) fails because locality is not an intrinsic character of the taxon
Attempt (ii) fails because there is no DNA evidence in existence, or at least none is provided by Hoser. Pointing out that the forms "are differentiated by DNA analysis" when no such analysis has been carried out does not, in my opinion, constitute what the Code calls "a description or definition that states in words characters that are purported to differentiate the taxon"

Hoser provides no reference to any paper in which the WA taipans are differentiated from other taipans, thus failing to fulfill 13.1.2.

I conclude that the description of Oxyuranus scutellatus barringeri fails to conform to the requirements of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, and the name is therefore a nomen nudum, a name that does not exist as far as the scientific nomenclature is concerned.

If future work shows that the WA population of Oxyuranus scutellatus does indeed represent a differentiated taxon, then the worker carrying out this work will be free to give the new taxon a new name of his or her choice, as the name barringeri has no standing in the scientific nomenclature.

Cheers,

Wolfgang

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