[tcs-lc] [Tcs-lc] concepts of Higher taxa

Gregor Hagedorn G.Hagedorn at BBA.DE
Mon Apr 4 01:28:59 PDT 2005


> I think there are two terms that we cold coin here that may be useful
> 1) Nomenclatural placement
> 2) Conceptual placement

I think this would be useful. Note that in the earlier LC I tried to introduce 
an informal "higher taxon placement" element as provided in the nomenclatural 
publication.

Purely nomenclatural, only the genus and nomenclatural code assignment of 
infrageneric ranks are required. However, in my work, in the absence of a 
formal revisionary classification, I often find if highly helpful to be 
informed about the publishing authors initial classification, where one is 
given. This may, however, state for a fungus that it is an algae, or vice 
versa. So I would not want to use it the same way I would use a classification 
concept that is revisionary and comprehensive. As far as I understand, current 
TCS generalizes nomenclatural placement, classification hints in a 
nomenclatural publication, and revisionary classification information. This is 
not necessarily wrong from a data-transport perspective, but as a consumer I 
would very much have a set of rules that software can act upon to filter this 
information into the three buckets I have outlined above. One way is to have 
different relations at least for the nomenclatural placement, which is what the 
LC name structure I believe is still proposing. The other problem, a coherent 
classification system versus a singular containment statement to me is still 
unsolved.

I think we agree that higher taxon classification systems are interdependent. 
I.e. although parts can be *reused*, they cannot easily be atomized and used as 
they come. When treating them the same, I believe we end up in the explosion of 
incomparable concepts that is at the bottom of this thread.

Gregor----------------------------------------------------------
Gregor Hagedorn (G.Hagedorn at bba.de)
Institute for Plant Virology, Microbiology, and Biosafety
Federal Research Center for Agriculture and Forestry (BBA)
Königin-Luise-Str. 19           Tel: +49-30-8304-2220
14195 Berlin, Germany           Fax: +49-30-8304-2203



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