-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Petition to AOS Leadership on the Recent Decision to Change all Eponymous Bird Names (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter rahopko
- Start date
Here it is
Jim LeNomenclatoriste
Je suis un mignon petit Traquet rubicole
Thanks. I'm going to ask French entomologists what they think of this case
Jim LeNomenclatoriste
Je suis un mignon petit Traquet rubicole
I get it, it's good 😉Try this url
Eponyms have no place in 21st-century biological nomenclature - Nature Ecology & Evolution
We argue that naming species in honour of a specific person is unjustifiable and out of step with equality and representation. Reforming taxonomy to remove eponyms will not be easy but could bring multiple benefits for both conservation and society.doi.org
Because it is practical. Imagine trying to search for older literature on a given species if names changed every 10, 20, or whatever time period.
Niels
opisska
rabid twitcher
Yes, stability is practical and I am general in favor of it. But there surely can be exceptions. Also, the current system is also not perfect w.r.t. stability, since once in a while, people dig out some arcane source proving that someone else had priority and the scientific name changes.
Farnboro John
Well-known member
There is full traceability in such cases though (not least, the arcane source has to be proven). Which is an element of stability.
John
Paul Chapman
Well-known member
Many thanks for this.
The analysis and the figures relate to vertebrates. So about 70,000 of the world's 1.3 million taxa are vertebrates and this proposal appears to be from a minority interest in biodiversity.....
On our local rewilding site in under two years in an unremarkable piece of land on an impoverished island for biodiversity, we are approaching our 2,000th taxa. Less than 150 are vertebrates.
If I had a minority interest, I would probably avoid the preaching tone. It appears to be a continuing trend of individuals who seem convinced that they know best without setting out a sufficient basis for me to work out why they do so....
😀
All the best
Paul
Attachments
Last edited:
Jim LeNomenclatoriste
Je suis un mignon petit Traquet rubicole
Response from Jean Haxaire (Entomologist)
Translation:
and I think this is the opinion of many entomologists, particularly French, because most are relatively old amateurs and conservative on the way of naming species (in the sense that they will not lower themselves to this which they could call a "woke delirium").
There can't be too many articles using Taylor Swift and Hitler in the same sentence. Perhaps this illustrates the flaw in the argument that all eponyms are equivalent.
Paul Chapman
Well-known member
I think that if you add in Zino then most would probably produce the same order in which the three eponyms should be "corrected".... 😀
All the best
Paul
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
That piece opens with
'We argue that naming species in honour of a specific person is unjustifiable and out of step with equality and representation.'
Discontinuing the practice, should be sufficient without, taking action to remove existing names. If you want balance and representation, start naming stuff after black people?
Jim LeNomenclatoriste
Je suis un mignon petit Traquet rubicole
Beyonce Knowles, Barack Obama?
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Stevie Wonder, Desmond Dekker, Serena Willliams, Pele, why not?
Wonder Warbler
Jim LeNomenclatoriste
Je suis un mignon petit Traquet rubicole
Already done for them
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
So what's the problem, maintain the status quo and just start promoting some non white people to achieve parity?
Dave Boyle
Well-known member
You'll just have to find some non-white people who were involved in the genocide of white people or the taking of their land, destruction of their culture & language, kept white people as slaves & never looked at a bird in their lives but somebody thought they should have a bird named after them! 😁
Dave Boyle
Well-known member
I think the big problem is just trying to come up with a single, 'official' name, you can have 1000's of columns in excel so there's no real need for it.
There's actually quite a few Maori names which are used internationally & are the 'official' English name - Kea, Kakapo, Kaka, Kiwi, Kokako, Weka etc. and many others are being used colloquially more & more. But yep, it would be weird in, say a list of species of shearwater of the world to have Titi or Rako thrown in there but if you added another column I don't see why you couldn't.
qwerty5
Controversial opinion generator
I could name some non-white (and white) people who were and are promoting horrific things, but I would make probably everyone on here rather mad. In 200 years society may (and I hope it does) look on some aspects of today's society as abhorrent and evil. Maybe we should just chill out and not try to renegotiate the past. The AOS states that they are doing this in part to "address past wrongs", as if anyone's actions today can do something to help slaves or end segregation sooner. I also posit that if society would stop making race the basic defining factor of every individual then nothing like the AOS decision would ever need to be imagined.
Jim LeNomenclatoriste
Je suis un mignon petit Traquet rubicole
Are we talking about Latin or common names?
Similar threads
- Poll
