DMW
Well-known member
In the discussion about Birds of the World merging with ebird and adopting Clements, I've seen comments favouring the idea of a single unified avian taxonomy.
The attraction of The One True List is obvious, but I wonder whether this is really a desirable goal? The simple reality is that species-level taxonomy is ultimately based on subjective opinion (even if objective data is used to support such opinion), and the idea that there should be a single "correct" taxonomy is not only flawed, but in a sense quite despotic.
There seems to be a sort of taxonomic Muller's Ratchet effect at the moment, as less and less distinct sub-species get hived-off and promoted to species level.
Even if it is messy, isn't it better to have a diversity of competing taxonomies making decisions independently, rather than seeking to align?
The attraction of The One True List is obvious, but I wonder whether this is really a desirable goal? The simple reality is that species-level taxonomy is ultimately based on subjective opinion (even if objective data is used to support such opinion), and the idea that there should be a single "correct" taxonomy is not only flawed, but in a sense quite despotic.
There seems to be a sort of taxonomic Muller's Ratchet effect at the moment, as less and less distinct sub-species get hived-off and promoted to species level.
Even if it is messy, isn't it better to have a diversity of competing taxonomies making decisions independently, rather than seeking to align?