VALIDATING TAXONOMIC NAMES Victoria Tersigni (Dartmouth) Gaurav Vaidya (CU Boulder) 

Taxonomic checklists 

Taxonomic checklists Homo sapiens Felis tigris Delphinus orca Magnifera indica Linnaea borealis 

Nomenclatural codes 

Nomenclatural codes 

Nomenclatural codes 

Components of a name Felis tigris Linnaeus, 1758 [=> Panthera tigris (Linnaeus, 1758)] (Animalia) Linnaean/taxonomic name (and the result of taxon reconciliation later!) 

Components of a name Felis tigris Linnaeus, 1758 [=> Panthera tigris (Linnaeus, 1758)] (Animalia) Canonical/binomial name (not in Darwin Core!) 

Components of a name Felis tigris Linnaeus, 1758 [=> Panthera tigris (Linnaeus, 1758)] (Animalia) Authority (dwc:scientificNameAuthorship) 

Components of a name Felis tigris Linnaeus, 1758 [=> Panthera tigris (Linnaeus, 1758)] (Animalia) Accepted name (dwc:acceptedNameUsage) 

Components of a name Felis tigris Linnaeus, 1758 [=> Panthera tigris (Linnaeus, 1758)] (Animalia) Higher taxonomy (dwc:higherClassification) 

Taxonomic checklists 

Online taxonomic checklists 

Online taxonomic checklists 

Online taxonomic checklists 

Online taxonomic checklists 

Online taxonomic checklists Lists of names and accepted names. 

Online taxonomic checklists Lists of names and accepted names. Formatted according to the nomenclatural codes. 

Online taxonomic checklists Lists of names and accepted names. Formatted according to the nomenclatural codes. Downloadable? 

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) http://www.itis.gov/ 

ITIS meets Darwin Core http://gaurav.github.com/itis-dwca/ 

GBIF Checklist Bank (beta) 

TaxRefine http://www.github.com/gaurav/taxrefine 

Summary the First 1. Names are ridiculously awesome. 

Summary the First 1. Names are ridiculously awesome. 2. Different nomenclatural codes work differently. 

Summary the First 1. Names are ridiculously awesome. 2. Different nomenclatural codes work differently. 3. Names have parts, all of which can be important. 

Summary the First 1. Names are ridiculously awesome. 2. Different nomenclatural codes work differently. 3. Names have parts, all of which can be important. 4. Multiple checklists may disagree on which is the correct accepted name (synonymy). 

Junius Henderson b. 1865 – d. 1937 

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http://bit.ly/jhfnblog 

http://bit.ly/henderson-simplified 

Two kinds of names Scraped Name: what Henderson wrote in his notebook. Annotator Name: what our (mysteriously anonymous annotators) thought the correct accepted taxonomic name for that species was. 

Validating common names 

Validating common names Can be confusing: “limpet”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limpet “fish”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish “water snakes”: eh? 

Validating common names Can be confusing: “limpet”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limpet “fish”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish “water snakes”: eh? But sometimes very specific: “English sparrow”: Passer domesticus “American goldfinch”: Carduelis tristis “Say phoebe”: Sayornis saya “robin”: Turdus migratorius 

Names when correct What does a scientific name look like when it’s correct? 

Names when correct What does a scientific name look like when it’s correct? Zonitoides arboreus 

Names when correct What does a scientific name look like when it’s correct? Zonitoides arboreus O. congesta 

Names when correct What does a scientific name look like when it’s correct? Zonitoides arboreus O. congesta Succinea cf. avara 

Names when correct What does a scientific name look like when it’s correct? Zonitoides arboreus O. congesta Succinea cf. avara Junco sp. 

Names when correct What does a scientific name look like when it’s correct? Zonitoides arboreus O. congesta Succinea cf. avara Junco sp. Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus Wied-Neuwied 1841 

Names when correct What does a scientific name look like when it’s correct? Zonitoides arboreus O. congesta Succinea cf. avara Junco sp. Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus Wied-Neuwied 1841 Carpodacus mexicanus (Statius Muller, 1776) 

Names when wrong What does a scientific name look like when it’s wrong? 

Names when wrong What does a scientific name look like when it’s wrong? “Limnaea” (misspelling of Lymnaea) 

Names when wrong What does a scientific name look like when it’s wrong? “Limnaea” (misspelling of Lymnaea) “Tyrranus verticalis” (misspelling of Tyranus verticalis) 

Names when wrong What does a scientific name look like when it’s wrong? “Limnaea” (misspelling of Lymnaea) “Tyrranus verticalis” (misspelling of Tyranus verticalis) Boulder, Colorado 

Synonymy Henderson records “housefinches -- singing in town” 

Synonymy Henderson records “housefinches -- singing in town” Original description: Fringi!a mexicana Statius Müller, 1776 

Synonymy Henderson records “housefinches -- singing in town” Original description: Fringi!a mexicana Statius Müller, 1776 By 1900, known as Carpodacus mexicanus. 

Synonymy Henderson records “housefinches -- singing in town” Original description: Fringi!a mexicana Statius Müller, 1776 By 1900, known as Carpodacus mexicanus. In 2012, renamed to Haemorhous mexicanus. 

Cross-code homonymy 

Cross-code homonymy 

Cross-code homonymy 

Cross-code homonymy 

Changing meanings Henderson wrote (at “Boulder, Feby 13, 1909”): “Saw only usual number of magpies and long crested jays, one buzzard, a few chickadees, one canyon or winter wren and one pine squirrel” What did he mean by “winter wren”? 

Changing meanings Henderson wrote (at “Boulder, Feby 13, 1909”): “Saw only usual number of magpies and long crested jays, one buzzard, a few chickadees, one canyon or winter wren and one pine squirrel” What did he mean by “winter wren”? 1909: Nannus hiemalis 

Changing meanings Henderson wrote (at “Boulder, Feby 13, 1909”): “Saw only usual number of magpies and long crested jays, one buzzard, a few chickadees, one canyon or winter wren and one pine squirrel” What did he mean by “winter wren”? 1909: Nannus hiemalis 1944: Combined into Troglodytes troglodytes. 

Changing meanings Henderson wrote (at “Boulder, Feby 13, 1909”): “Saw only usual number of magpies and long crested jays, one buzzard, a few chickadees, one canyon or winter wren and one pine squirrel” What did he mean by “winter wren”? 1909: Nannus hiemalis 1944: Combined into Troglodytes troglodytes. 2010: Split into three species, including Troglodytes hiemalis. 

Summary the Second It’s hard for computers to read and make sense of names (but OpenRefine can make this easier). 

Summary the Second It’s hard for computers to read and make sense of names (but OpenRefine can make this easier). It’s hard to know which of several names is currently accepted. 

Summary the Second It’s hard for computers to read and make sense of names (but OpenRefine can make this easier). It’s hard to know which of several names is currently accepted. It’s hard to know what someone meant by a name. 

Summary the Second It’s hard for computers to read and make sense of names (but OpenRefine can make this easier). It’s hard to know which of several names is currently accepted. It’s hard to know what someone meant by a name. Patience, diligence and a good search engine. 

http://tinyurl.com/bitw-taxon 

Images used Wikimedia Commons: Systema naturae, 10th edition: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Linnaeus1758-title-page.jpg Species Plantarum: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Species_plantarum_002.JPG Junius Henderson: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Junius_Henderson.jpg Crucibulum (fungi): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2012-08-13_Crucibulum_laeve_%28Huds.-_Relh %29_Kambly_248884_crop.jpg Crucibulum (gastropod): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crucibulum_deformis_01.JPG Ficus (gastropod): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ficus_gracilis_01.JPG Ficus (plant): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ra%C3%ADces_superficiales.JPG Screenshots of the following websites: http://www.eol.org/ http://www.antweb.org/ http://www.cites.org/ “Darwin Core” image from http://www.canadensys.net/wp-content/uploads/darwin-core-unofficial-logo.jpg Book covers from: http://www.andrewisles.com/assets/Bookmine/BMImg_26493_26493_Christidis_syst_web.jpg http://www.nhbs.com/images/jackets_resizer_large/17/172431.jpg http://www.nhbs.com/world_catalogue_of_insects_volume_10_psychidae_lepidoptera_tefno_177350.html Clements checklist: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/images/BookCover.jpg