But Nature doesn't decide what counts as published under the ICZN. The original work still fulfills Article 8 and the ICZN says nothing about retractions so it cannot be influenced by them. It's the same as if a dictator decreed some work never existed, even
with legal and governmental powers behind them, the status would remain unchanged under the ICZN.
Mickey Mortimer
From: Thomas Richard Holtz <tholtz@umd.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2020 2:22 PM
To: Mickey Mortimer <mickey_mortimer111@msn.com>
Cc: DML <dinosaur-l@usc.edu>
Subject: Re: [dinosaur] RETRACTION: Oculudentavis, new smallest known Mesozoic bird in amber from Cretaceous of Myanmar
Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2020 2:22 PM
To: Mickey Mortimer <mickey_mortimer111@msn.com>
Cc: DML <dinosaur-l@usc.edu>
Subject: Re: [dinosaur] RETRACTION: Oculudentavis, new smallest known Mesozoic bird in amber from Cretaceous of Myanmar
Mickey wrote:
>Henry Gee isn't the ICZN though, and that's not how the ICZN works since the paper was still published.
No. It isn't published. That's the distinction between "retraction" and other forms of re-examination. The paper doesn't exist anymore. There is just a gap in the paper
version... Or at least that is what we are supposed to consider it. The paper never existed; it was just a delusion.
Retractions are weird...
So yes, with a retraction, technically speaking we ARE supposed to pretend it never existed.
Blargh.
On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 5:16 PM Mickey Mortimer <mickey_mortimer111@msn.com> wrote:
Henry Gee isn't the ICZN though, and that's not how the ICZN works since the paper was still published. On paper even. Oculudentavis would need to be placed on the list of rejected names via a petition. Although it should not be, because as people have said, taxonomic misidentifications happen all the time (even if this one was obvious ... cough... http://theropoddatabase.blogspot.com/2020/03/oculudentavis-is-not-theropod.html cough...). If Xing is now embarrassed by the work, they don't just get to pretend it never existed.
Mickey Mortimer
From: dinosaur-l-request@mymaillists.usc.edu <dinosaur-l-request@mymaillists.usc.edu> on behalf of Thomas Richard Holtz <tholtz@umd.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2020 2:01 PM
To: Ben Creisler <bcreisler@gmail.com>
Cc: DML <dinosaur-l@usc.edu>
Subject: Re: [dinosaur] RETRACTION: Oculudentavis, new smallest known Mesozoic bird in amber from Cretaceous of MyanmarAccording to a response by Henry Gee on my Facebook page, because the paper is Retracted, it no longer exists in the record, and the name is now vanished.
On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 4:59 PM Ben Creisler <bcreisler@gmail.com> wrote:
Ben Creisler
Note the distinction between a Correction (or a Corrigendum) and a Retraction:
Anonymous (2006)
Correction or retraction?
Nature 444: 123-124
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/444123b
https://www.nature.com/articles/444123b
Free pdf:
https://www.nature.com/articles/444123b.pdf
"When an important error has been made in a published piece of work, yet the central claim or result still stands, the publication of a Corrigendum is the most sensible way forward; others are thereby alerted to any inaccuracies in the paper, which may have an impact on their own research. If, on the other hand, the errors that have been made undermine the principal message of the paper, then a retraction is in order -- the paper may still contain valid scientific information, but the original publication has now lost its raison d'être."
In this case, the identification of the fossil as representing an unusual bird is the primary error, and so goes to the main message of the paper. Obviously, a redescription based on an additional and more informative specimen would merit a completely new description and phylo analysis (but not a new name). In this case, assuming the new specimen is also one found in Burmese amber, a change in editorial policies by some journals about research on Burmese amber could complicate the publication situation.
On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 10:41 AM Ben Creisler <bcreisler@gmail.com> wrote:
A note retracting the original paper (which was a Nature cover story and featured in official online videos):
Free pdf:
Lida Xing, Jingmai K. O’Connor, Lars Schmitz, Luis M. Chiappe, Ryan C. McKellar, Qiru Yi & Gang Li (2020)
Retraction Note: Hummingbird-sized dinosaur from the Cretaceous period of Myanmar
Nature (advance online publication)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2553-9
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2553-9
Free pdf:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2553-9.pdf
The original article was published on 11 March 2020
Retraction to: Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2068-4 Published online 11 March 2020
We, the authors, are retracting this Article to prevent inaccurate information from remaining in the literature. Although the description of Oculudentavis khaungraae remains accurate, a new unpublished specimen casts doubts upon our hypothesis regarding the phylogenetic position of HPG-15-3.
On Wed, Mar 11, 2020 at 3:10 PM Ben Creisler <bcreisler@gmail.com> wrote:
Ben Creisler
A new bird:
(Sorry for the delay in posting. There was a major power outage in my neighborhood that began last night and just ended. No computer, no internet, no hot food...)
Oculudentavis khaungraae gen. et sp. nov.
Lida Xing, Jingmai K. O’Connor, Lars Schmitz, Luis M. Chiappe, Ryan C. McKellar, Qiru Yi & Gang Li (2020)
Hummingbird-sized dinosaur from the Cretaceous period of Myanmar.
Nature 579:245–249
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2068-4
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2068-4
Skeletal inclusions in approximately 99-million-year-old amber from northern Myanmar provide unprecedented insights into the soft tissue and skeletal anatomy of minute fauna, which are not typically preserved in other depositional environments. Among a diversity of vertebrates, seven specimens that preserve the skeletal remains of enantiornithine birds have previously been described, all of which (including at least one seemingly mature specimen) are smaller than specimens recovered from lithic materials. Here we describe an exceptionally well-preserved and diminutive bird-like skull that documents a new species, which we name Oculudentavis khaungraae gen. et sp. nov. The find appears to represent the smallest known dinosaur of the Mesozoic era, rivalling the bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae)--the smallest living bird--in size. The O. khaungraae specimen preserves features that hint at miniaturization constraints, including a unique pattern of cranial fusion and an autapomorphic ocular morphology that resembles the eyes of lizards. The conically arranged scleral ossicles define a small pupil, indicative of diurnal activity. Miniaturization most commonly arises in isolated environments, and the diminutive size of Oculudentavis is therefore consistent with previous suggestions that this amber formed on an island within the Trans-Tethyan arc10. The size and morphology of this species suggest a previously unknown bauplan, and a previously undetected ecology. This discovery highlights the potential of amber deposits to reveal the lowest limits of vertebrate body size.
==
News and blogs:
Tiny bird fossil might be the world’s smallest dinosaur
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smallest-known-dinosaur-found-in-amber/
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/head-tiny-dinosaur-found-trapped-amber
====
--
Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu Phone: 301-405-4084
Principal Lecturer, Vertebrate PaleontologyOffice: Geology 4106, 8000 Regents Dr., College Park MD 20742
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/Phone: 301-405-6965
Fax: 301-314-9661
Faculty Director, Science & Global Change Program, College Park ScholarsOffice: Centreville 1216, 4243 Valley Dr., College Park MD 20742
http://www.geol.umd.edu/sgc
Fax: 301-314-9843
Mailing Address: Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Department of Geology
Building 237, Room 11178000 Regents Drive
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-4211 USA
Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu Phone: 301-405-4084
Principal Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Office: Geology 4106, 8000 Regents Dr., College Park MD 20742
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
Phone: 301-405-6965
Fax: 301-314-9661
Faculty Director, Science & Global Change Program, College Park Scholars
Office: Centreville 1216, 4243 Valley Dr., College Park MD 20742
http://www.geol.umd.edu/sgc
Fax: 301-314-9843
Mailing Address: Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Department of Geology
Building 237, Room 1117
8000 Regents Drive
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-4211 USA