Availability of zoological names published in theses

[bh480@scn.org]

From: Ben Creisler bh480@scn.org
Availability of zoological names published in theses

The December 2001 issue of  Bulletin of Zoological 
Nomenclature 58(4): 311-312 addresses an issue that's been 
debated on the mailing list in recent months, and these 
official comments are obviously worth adding to the 
discussion:

Availability of zoological names published in theses
P.K. Tubbs
Executive Secretary, International Commission on 
Zoological Nomenclature

The Commission Secretariat is frequently asked about the 
availability of names (and nomenclatural acts, such as the 
designation of type species) from their publication in 
theses, and it may be helpful to state the position.

There has never been a provision in the Code to the effect 
that a name or act cannot be made available from its 
appearance in a thesis. It follows that if a thesis 
is  'published'  in the sense of the Code (Articles 8 and 
9) names and acts in it will be available if the other 
necessary conditions are met.

However, extremely few theses count as published works, 
because nearly all fail to meet all the requirements of 
those Articles. Even if numerous copies are printed these 
are usually only deposited in prescribed libraries or 
distributed to colleaugues of the author -- they are 
not 'obtainable, when first issued, free of charge or by 
purchase' by the zoological public, and therefore they do 
not satisfy Article 8.13; the subsequent supply of copies 
in response to individual requests would not satisfy 
Article 9.7.

Abstracts of theses often appear in works which clearly 
are published in the sense of the Code: a name could be 
available from such an abstract but only if qualifying 
information (e.g. description and typification of the 
taxon) also appeared in it. This is not usually the case, 
however, and after 1999 is particularly unlikely in the 
case of a species since under Article 16.4 a holotype or 
syntypes must be explicitly fixed to establish the name.

Many theses do contain proposed new names and 
nomenclatural acts, since these are indispensable for 
treatment of subject matter. . The author of such a thesis 
should include in it a disclaimer (Article 8.2) to the 
effect that the thesis is not to be taken as published for 
the purposes of zoological nomenclature or within the 
meaning of the Code. Disclaimers should also be provided 
by editors of all works which include abstracts to theses 
so that names and acts are not made available 
unintentionally. As a corollary of this, people who are 
aware of new names in theses should take great care not to 
cite those names in their publications before the author 
has made them available.

The recommendations in Appendixes A and B of the Code and 
those attached to Articles 8 and 9 give further guidance 
on the publication of new taxonomic names.