Parataxon

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Sometimes names are also used in scientific contexts for organisms (or their parts or traces) that do not refer to “classical” taxa . An object named in this way is called a parataxon because it is carried “next to” (Greek para- ) the classical taxa. Parataxa are objects that have (or at least could have) a valid taxonomic name, but which should not be used within the framework of ordinary taxonomy with its nomenclature rules . The corresponding field of knowledge is parataxonomy .

Use for tropical insect species

In recent times, approaches have become popular to overcome the crisis in the description of tropical biodiversity through the use of Parataxa; these were referred to as morpho species in the first publications on this subject . For this purpose, individuals who look similar are grouped into categories by non-specialists in order to make them manageable at least on a provisional basis. This seems justified by the fact that a formal description would only be possible by a few scientists using often difficult methods, which realistically could take decades for species that are not in the focus of scientific interest.

Use for fossils

Another use for parataxa is in paleontology . Often fossils of parts of organisms are found here, which are clearly recognizable and delimitable without it being known exactly from which organism they come. Their location and function within the former organism may be unknown, or at least it is based on more or less hypothetical reconstructions. In such cases, names are often given for the fossils, which are labeled as Formtaxa or Parataxa. For example, Parataxa have been described for microfossils of the cuticle of plants because it is not clear to which plant species they actually belong (which may have already been described after other fossils). In the past, these were only regulated as morphotaxons for plant fossils by the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi and Plants , but this was abolished with the Melbourne Code in 2011.

The paleontologist Stefan Bengtson has rejected the use of the term "parataxon" and proposed to replace it with sciotaxon .

Use for pets

The zoologist Colin Groves suggested that domesticated descendants of a wild species should be treated as Parataxon in order to avoid that the wild species would become paraphyletic even if its domesticated descendants were separated out. However, this proposal did not prevail.

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  • F.-T. Krell (2004): Parataxonomy vs. taxonomy in biodiversity studies - pitfalls and applicability of "morphospecies" sorting. Biodiversity and Conservation 13: 795-812.
  • CG Majka & S. Bondrup-Nielsen (2006): Parataxonomy: a test case using beetles. Animal Biodiversity and Conservation 29 (2): 149-156.
  • The Paleontological Association (editor) (1990): Palaeobiology: A Synthesis. Section 5: Taxonomy, Phylogeny and Biostratigraphy. download 5.1.2 disarticulated animal fossils (p. 419), 5.1.3. disarticulated plant fossils (p. 421), 5.1.4. trace fossils (p. 423).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ I. Oliver, JA Beattie (1993): A possible method for the rapid assessment of biodiversity. Conservation Biology 7: 562-568.
  2. ↑ Mike Pole (2008): Dispered leaf cuticle from the early miocene of southern New Zealand . Palaeontologia Electronica Vol. 11, Issue 3; 15A: 117; on-line
  3. ^ Stefan Bengtson (1985): Taxonomy of Disarticulated Fossils . Journal of Paleontology 59; 6: 1350-1358. Abstract
  4. ↑ Colin P. Groves (1995): On the nomenclature of domestic animals . Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 52 (2): 137.

Web links

Parataxonomy at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History