Re: [Killietalk] Genus level changes

[Barry Cooper <bjc3 at centurytel_net>]

Kenneth Quinn wrote:

> I took about a 25 year break from killies...  I see a lot of taxonomic 
> changes, such as Aphy. bivittatum now being in another genus. Ditto 
> Cynolebias nigripinnis.  Can anyone refer me to a list of taxonomic changes? 
> Was this done as part of a single, comprehensive review of the family, or 
> were the changes published as a series of publications?  If so, does anyone 
> have a list of the bibliographic citations?  Thanks in advance.
>
> Kenneth Quinn 
>  
You ask an interesting question and raise an issue that has been 
troubling me in recent weeks. The changes in taxonomy you see have 
occurred over the years, as ichthyologists study specimens and draw 
conclusions on how they should be grouped. There have been bursts of 
change too, such as the large revision made by Parenti some years ago 
and more recent revisions of South American species done by Costa. On 
top of that, many new species have been described.

The AKA's officially recognized reference for nomenclature is Ken 
Lazara's Killifish Master Index, which has reached the 4th edition, 
published relatively recently. Yet, new species have been described 
since its publication and further revisions made. Taxonomy and 
nomenclature are ever evolving things and there will continue to be 
changes. The challenge for the AKA is how to help members to keep up 
with them. Personally, I think this is such a big job that it requires a 
group to deal with it, rather than one person. That should not be taken 
as criticism of Ken Lazara's work in any way. I think he did a fantastic 
job with the KMI and I particularly find the table of concordances 
useful. However, revisions that come years apart leave us in an 
impossible situation where we are supposed to use the KMI as our 
authoritative source, but where changes have taken place that are not 
included in the current KMI but that are universally, or almost 
universally, accepted. (There will always be some disagreements). I have 
recently raised this issue with the chairman of the BOT, Peter Tirbak, 
suggesting that the BOT discuss the issue.

I almost hate to say it but the best way to deliver currently accepted 
nomenclature to the members would be an on line source, because this can 
be updated regularly. However, this could not be attempted until we have 
some mechanism in place to regularly examine the literature and make 
decisions about whether to accept proposed changes. In the mean time I 
should also mention the other commonly used reference source, name Jean 
Huber's Killidata. This is maintained on line, by subscription, and does 
reflect recent changes. As I said before, there are always some 
disagreements between scientists regarding taxonomy, so you will find 
some differences between Killidata and the KMI, although there is 
general agreement.

Hope this helps.

Barry Cooper

--
Barry J. Cooper
Sweet Home, OR 97386


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