[Nhcoll-l] ICZN policy on replacing lost type specimens

Thu Sep 13 01:53:46 EDT 2018

Dear Doug, dear all,

maybe two things to chip in:

Loosing type material is a big loss for a collection, no question. There 
many threats for such valuable specimens, and fire being one of them. 
Severe cuts to budget lines, natural disasters, war and many other 
threats add to this list. Munich lost a substantial part of its types in 
WW II, and have been replaced only in relevant cases (following ICZN 
recommendations). Even though we lost all but one Spix type of his 
Fishes of Brazil here in Munich, a good chunk of syntypes survived in 
Switzerland, because of Agassiz' deposition of doublets in Neuchatel. 
Splitting of type series and deposition of types preferably on different 
continents underlines not only your appreciation for 
colleagues/institutions you love to collaborate with, but could also be 
understood as precautionary measure. Still, many colleagues understand 
type material as (personal) treasure used to raise the profile of the 
own collection. This definitely is important, yes, but it might be worth 
to consider deposition of type material abroad, too. We don't need a 
fire to destroy an entire or substantial part of a collection, a 
malfunctioning sprinkler head in your type collection can do a terribly 
good job over the weekend as well. Splitting of type series does not 
necessarily lower the research profile of a collection.

Secondly, types, and especially the holotypes, are well known, 
described, depicted. We know a lot about these specimens, and neotypes 
are actually rarely needed. The by far larger loss is the new, 
undescribed, unstudied, unexplored material that was lost in Rio or is 
lost such an event anywhere in a collection on this planet. This 
material definitely is irreplaceable, because it cannot be re-collected 
from the past. But these are the future assets of an collection, the 
potential for new research projects, new research careers, ... but too 
often, this material is neglected in the one way or the other. We should 
keep in mind that in those unsorted bulk samples, the future types are 
hiding, and take care for such material accordingly.

Dirk

Am 13.09.2018 um 05:06 schrieb Doug Yanega:
>
> Hi, all.
>
> Among the things that have arisen in the aftermath of the terrible 
> fire this month in Brazil's Museu Nacional - a tragedy that affects 
> many in the global scientific community - are numerous public comments 
> regarding the loss of the thousands of holotype specimens housed in 
> Rio, and how difficult it will be to replace them all. The latter 
> assertion - implying or claiming that *all *of the lost types will 
> need to be replaced - is inaccurate, and those of us serving on the 
> ICZN (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature) feel that 
> it is essential to provide accurate information to counteract some of 
> these well-intentioned but slightly misleading comments. Our aim is 
> not to dismiss the concerns of those who are worried about the 
> consequences of losing so many type specimens, but to reassure people 
> that only a *fraction* of those lost types actually require 
> replacement, in no small part due to the commendable foresight of 
> curators and researchers who recorded digital images of many of those 
> types.
>
> Accordingly, I and a number of other Commissioners have drafted an 
> advisory document outlining what the ICZN Code actually says regarding 
> the replacement of lost types, emphasizing that the situation 
> surrounding each individual type must be taken into account, and *only 
> in exceptional cases* is it possible to designate a replacement 
> (neotype); doing so requires very explicit justification and 
> documentation. It is entirely likely that only a small fraction of the 
> holotypes that have been lost will fulfill the necessary criteria, 
> thus greatly reducing the burden on the taxonomic community. The task 
> will not be easy, but it will not be as comprehensive or 
> labor-intensive as many have assumed.
>
> For those of you who have an interest in this matter, please see
>
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ef0H0pwnjJW5B5thzp-Fs5J3qEomuJyoEvKQd4hx-Lk/edit?usp=sharing
>
> There are, inevitably, parts of the Code that can be easily 
> overlooked, easily misinterpreted, or fairly subjective. The purpose 
> of this particular document is to serve for clarification and as a 
> practical guideline. It does not, in any way, supercede the 
> "legislative" text of the Code itself, which is appended - unaltered - 
> at the end of the document, and also available at 
> http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted-sites/iczn/code/ in its entirety. We would 
> urge people in particular to note the various provisions of Article 
> 75.3, especially 75.3.6 and 75.3.7.
>
> Please do bear in mind that the rules concerning neotype designations 
> are explicitly intended to ensure a measure of quality control over 
> the process, and prevent abuses of the system; every one of these 
> rules is in place for a good reason. Most of these rules have been 
> unchanged (or even slightly relaxed) since at least the 1961 edition 
> of the Code, if not earlier, and they have served the community well 
> thus far.
>
> If you read through the document and still are uncertain about 
> anything, I and the other Commissioners are generally available to 
> answer questions. We would certainly prefer to spend a little effort 
> to address taxonomists' concerns *before* any types are replaced, 
> rather than after.
>
> PLEASE do pass this message on to colleagues who might benefit from 
> this information, including other mailing lists or social media groups 
> where this topic is of broad interest. This document may eventually be 
> published, but broad dissemination of the information *now* will still 
> be beneficial, especially given that publications have a much smaller 
> reach than mailing lists and social media, and also given how quickly, 
> and widely, inaccurate assumptions and claims have already been 
> distributed.
>
> Sincerely, Doug Yanega
>
> -- 
> Doug Yanega      Dept. of Entomology       Entomology Research Museum
> Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314     skype: dyanega
> phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
>               http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html
>    "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
>          is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82
>
>
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-- 
Dirk Neumann

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