RE: ICZN Details

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@geol.umd.edu>]

> From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu]On Behalf Of
> Rob Meyerson
>
> I was scrolling through the DinoGenera listing and had a rather
> unusual thought (big shock, huh ;^).  I noticed that some genera
> have many junior synonyms (JS).  Now, I noticed that some of
> these JS are pretty cool names for a dinosaur (Brontosaurus being
> a JS to Apatosaurus, for example).  My question: under ICZN
> rules, are these names off-limits for future species?

Yes, they are off-limits for all time (unless, of course, it is established
that the "junior synonym" really IS a distinct taxon; for example, if it
were established that _Apatosaurus ajax_ (type of _Apatosaurus_) and
_Apatosaurus excelsus_ (type of _Brontosaurus_) were truly distinct at the
generic level (however that might be established), then _Brontosaurus_ could
be used again.

                Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                Vertebrate Paleontologist
Department of Geology           Director, Earth, Life & Time Program
University of Maryland          College Park Scholars
                College Park, MD  20742
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/tholtz.htm
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite
Phone:  301-405-4084    Email:  tholtz@geol.umd.edu
Fax (Geol):  301-314-9661       Fax (CPS-ELT): 301-405-0796


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