Australian Mammalogy, volume 45, issue 1, pages 13-23

The importance of appropriate taxonomy in Australian mammalogy

STEPHEN M. JACKSON 1, 2, 3
1
 
Australian Museum Research Institute, 1 William Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.
3
 
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20013-7012, USA.
Publication typeJournal Article
Publication date2022-10-12
scimago Q2
SJR0.463
CiteScore2.5
Impact factor0.9
ISSN03100049, 18367402
Animal Science and Zoology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Abstract

The use of correct taxonomy to describe and name the earth’s biodiversity is fundamental to conservation and management. However, there are issues that need to be overcome to ensure that the described taxa and their scientific names are both appropriate and widely adopted. Obstacles to this include the use of different species definitions, taxonomic instability due to accumulation of additional specimens in analyses and the progression of science that allows better resolution of species boundaries, and the inappropriate description and naming of new taxa without adequate scientific basis in self-published journals (known as ‘taxonomic vandalism’). In an effort to manage taxonomic instability, the Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium (AMTC), an affiliated body of the Australian Mammal Society, has developed several tools that include: (1) a standardised list of Australian mammal common and scientific names; (2) recommendations for information that should be included in published species descriptions; and (3) support for the publication of aspidonyms (i.e. a scientifically acceptable name proposed to overwrite a pre-existing unscientific name). This review discusses these issues, reaffirms the foundations for appropriate taxonomic research, and provides guidelines for those publishing taxonomic research on Australian mammals.

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