Temporal stability vs taxonomic something-or other

[Chris J. Durden]

With the perfectly good common name Duskywing = *Erynnis*, if American 
*Erynnis* species were to be split into two genera, we could have Boreal 
Duskywings = *Erynnis* and American Duskywings = *Erynnides*. Dreamy and 
Sleepy Boreal Duskywings versus Funereal and Meridian American Duskywings. 
(Andy - please note that I am not advocating raising these subgenera to 
genera,at least not now).
...........Chris Durden

At 09:03 AM 5/9/2002 -0400, you wrote:

>Now I must disagree with Chris.  The main advantage of the vernacular names is
>that they DON'T change over time and are NOT at the whim of generic revisions.

Have some respect for the lay public and make the latest scientific 
opinions available to them even in the form of common names. I know I 
expect the same from the experts in other fields with which I am not 
familiar. The so-called "dumbing down" creates nothing but ill will and 
disrespect.

>You could still call it a Sleepy Erynnis, even if the genus changes. Maybe 
>that's
>why it seems safer to use that approach with distant tropical taxa which 
>are not
>likely to be revised a second time in our lifetime.  MIKE GOCHFELD

Oh Mike, there is much more revision going on in the distant (to us, not 
them) tropical taxa, than in our own fauna of "The University Zone".


>MIKE GOCHFELD



 
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