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Posted by sbogill on January 25, 2003 at 11:14:46:
In Reply to: Re: posted by K.E. on January 24, 2003 at 15:10:29:
I hate "johnny-come-lately"s who try to swoop in and totally overhaul standard convention and status queue just to make a name for themselves. To me our Black Rats will ever be Elaphe Obsoleta just like our Canebrake Rattlesnakes will ever be Crotalus horridus atricaudatus----just the way I learned them out of my Second Edition Conant's guide copyrighted in 1975! Woo (which I still use by the way)!
All the best,
John
:Well,
: Let me start by assuming that when you say Eastern rat snake you are referring to what was classically referred to as Elaphe obsoleta. Because you use the name "Eastern Rat" I am led to believe that you have accepted the last change to Elaphe alleghaniensis, and now you bring tidings that we should call it Pantherophis alleghaniensis. Well, it has been and always will be a cow sucker to me! This kind of stuff has plagued bird taxonomy for decades. Fortunately for them, they actually base a fraction of their taxonomy on the concept of a biological species. It seems that the current group of herp egg-heads are deciding to base a whole lot of this taxonomy solely on DNA testing. I would site the elevation of the Louisiana corn to a species as an example. What makes me the most frustrated about this stuff is that it seems inevitable that herp taxonomy will soon mirror that of the birds, where the generic names shift with the wind. What I find disgusting and in the poorest of taste is that the work of Conant, a man who spent his life in the field, is having his life's work modified by a bunch of young guys who sit at desks in universities. Well, like all science, the good will stick and the bad will be changed in the future. As for myself, I will stick with the second edition of Peterson's field guide by Conant and the Wright and Wright Hand book of snakes as the base of information in my North American herpetological endeavors. They certainly are not perfect, but what is? K.E.
