Re: Podokesauridae, Problems of Nomenclature Returned

["David Marjanovic" <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jaime A. Headden" <qilongia@yahoo.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2002 12:07 AM


> David Marjanovic (david.marjanovic@gmx.at) wrote:
>
>   ... about Podokesauridae ...
>
> <how I hate that name>
>
>   Hmm. I know authors prefer Coelophysidae, but let's look at it this
> way....
>
>   Podokesauridae was coined before Coelophysidae. Even though
> *Podokesaurus* is considered a junior synonym of *Coelophysis*, and *P.
> holyokensis* of *C. bauri*, the ICZN states that the first family to
> include the paradigm of the earliest eponym must be the "proper" family to
> which any senior synonym of the included paradigm belongs. [...]
> Elmisauridae is also lost as a result.
>
>   Sorry, David, hate it all you want, I feel the ICZN, until changed, will
> need to be followed.

I haven't stated the above because *Podokesaurus* may be *Coelophysis*, but
because *Podokesaurus* is so badly preserved and apparently so undiagnostic.
Can valid ICZN families be named after nomina dubia?
        I don't have much of an opinion whether *P.* (and *Syntarsus*) is
*C.* or not (I am reluctant to synonymize them considering the Tr-J mass
extinction between them, which may not be much of an argument).

> Sereno even uses Coelophysidae, which puzzles me, [...]

Why? Like so many people these days, Sereno deliberately ignores the ICZN.
He wants phylogenetic taxonomy _instead_.

>   http://www.cmnh.org/fun/dinosaur-archive/2000Jan/msg00378.html

Sereno happens to also ignore many good ideas of the PhyloCode.

>   Anyway, similar arguments were made in the past on similar subjects,
> even without synonymy of included taxa, only priority of "family" names. I
> hate the use of rank names, just get to ignore the ranks and use the terms
> for historical suffices [...]

I agree.
When the PhyloCode will be implemented, I'm sure, and I hope, that
Coelophysidae will be defined (first) and therefore have priority, rather
than Podokesauridae. As I don't publish (in a journal whose editors stick to
the ICZN), I'll happily continue to anticipate this state :-)