Tightening the requirements for species diagnoses would help integrate DNA-based descriptions in taxonomic practice.
Frank E Rheindt, Patrice Bouchard, Richard L Pyle, Francisco Welter-Schultes, Erna Aescht, Shane T Ahyong, Alberto Ballerio, Thierry Bourgoin, Luis M P Ceríaco, Dmitry Dmitriev, Neal Evenhuis, Mark J Grygier, Mark S Harvey, Maurice Kottelat, Nikita Kluge, Frank-T Krell, Jun-Ichi Kojima, Sven O Kullander, Paulo Lucinda, Christopher H C Lyal, Cristina Luisa Scioscia, Daniel Whitmore, Douglas Yanega, Zhi-Qiang Zhang, Hong-Zhang Zhou, Thomas Pape
Author Information
Frank E Rheindt: National University of Singapore, Department of Biological Sciences, Singapore. ORCID
Patrice Bouchard: Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Richard L Pyle: Department of Natural Sciences, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America.
Francisco Welter-Schultes: Abteilung Evolution und Biodiversität der Tiere und Zoologisches Museum, Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Erna Aescht: Biology Centre of the Upper Austrian Museum, Linz, Austria.
Shane T Ahyong: Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia.
Alberto Ballerio: Independent Researcher, Brescia, Italy.
Thierry Bourgoin: Institut Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), MNHN-CNRS-Sorbonne Université-EPHE- Université des Antilles, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France.
Luis M P Ceríaco: Departamento de Vertebrados, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Dmitry Dmitriev: Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America.
Neal Evenhuis: Department of Natural Sciences, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America.
Mark J Grygier: National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Checheng, Taiwan.
Mark S Harvey: Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool DC, Australia.
Maurice Kottelat: Independent Researcher, Delémont, Switzerland.
Nikita Kluge: Department of Entomology, Saint-Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Frank-T Krell: Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, Colorado, United States of America.
Jun-Ichi Kojima: Natural History Laboratory, Faculty of Science, Ibaraki University, Mito, Japan.
Sven O Kullander: Department of Zoology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden.
Paulo Lucinda: Laboratório de Ictiologia Sistemática, Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Tocantins, Brazil.
Christopher H C Lyal: Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom.
Cristina Luisa Scioscia: Arachnology Division, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 'Bernardino Rivadavia', Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Daniel Whitmore: Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.
Douglas Yanega: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California, United States of America.
Zhi-Qiang Zhang: Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research, Auckland, New Zealand.
Hong-Zhang Zhou: Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Thomas Pape: Zoological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark. ORCID
Modern advances in DNA sequencing hold the promise of facilitating descriptions of new organisms at ever finer precision but have come with challenges as the major Codes of bionomenclature contain poorly defined requirements for species and subspecies diagnoses (henceforth, species diagnoses), which is particularly problematic for DNA-based taxonomy. We, the commissioners of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, advocate a tightening of the definition of "species diagnosis" in future editions of Codes of bionomenclature, for example, through the introduction of requirements for specific information on the character states of differentiating traits in comparison with similar species. Such new provisions would enhance taxonomic standards and ensure that all diagnoses, including DNA-based ones, contain adequate taxonomic context. Our recommendations are intended to spur discussion among biologists, as broad community consensus is critical ahead of the implementation of new editions of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and other Codes of bionomenclature.
References
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2021 Jun;71(6):
[PMID: 34191704]
