Re: Labrosaurus (was RE: birds and dinosaurs)

["Jaime A. Headden" <qilongia@yahoo.com>]

Mickey Mortimer (Mickey_Mortimer111@msn.com) wrote:

<But what if we discover the Coelophysis bauri holotype is diagnostic and
referrable to the same species as Eucoelophysis baldwini's holotype, but
not the Coelophysis bauri neotype?  Then the name bauri would stay with
the neotype, and the Coelophysis bauri holotype would be relegated as a
referred specimen of Eucoelophysis baldwini, right?  You could hardly keep
the bauri holotype in bauri if the neotype is a different species.  And
the ICZN already ruled to keep bauri associated with the Ghost Ranch
specimens, so you couldn't backpeddle and call the bauri neotype
Rioarribasaurus colberti again.>

  If the lectotype of *Coelophysis bauri* (which will always be the
holotype of it, even if there is a neotype), is determined at some point
by someone to be diagnostic, and the holotype of *Eucoelophysis baldwini*
is determined to correspond directly to the same species, then
*Eucoelophysis* is determined to be a junior synonym of *Coelophysis,* and
the NMMNH specimen is treated as part of the *Coelophysis* hypodigm, as
always happens if a holotype is refered to the hypodigm of another taxon.
The neotype becomes useless. This is under the premise that the holotype
will have priority over a neotype if both are diagnostic. By matters of
priority, the name *Coelophysis* has priority over *Euceolophysis,* so
*C.* would contain *E.* as a junior synonym and the inverse cannot be
true.

  This would be true in *Allosaurus* as Chure has attempted to show, by
the unique medial crest of the humerus. An "nunneccessary" neotype
situation has not ever occured to my knowledge, so I would think the ICZN,
if considered "valid," would be at least consulted on this, and if
neccessary it's plenary powers excercised. At this point, if the lectotype
is rendered "diagnostic," then the neotype would revert back to the next
valid name as a holotype, IF it ever had one, or could be distinguished as
one after the fact. Then *Rioarribasaurus* could be recognized as valid,
if also treated as a separate clade from *Coelophysis.*

  Cheers,

=====
Jaime A. Headden

  Little steps are often the hardest to take.  We are too used to making leaps 
in the face of adversity, that a simple skip is so hard to do.  We should all 
learn to walk soft, walk small, see the world around us rather than zoom by it.

"Innocent, unbiased observation is a myth." --- P.B. Medawar (1969)


                
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