Paleonet: question about holotype specimens

[FELDMANN, RODNEY]

Jozsef.  It is my opinion that the part and counterpart of the specimen should, collectively, be considered the holotype of the taxon.  Viewed from the other direction, it would be unreasonable to consider the counterpart a paratype, in which case precisely the same organism would have two different type designations.  It would also be unreasonable to consider that the counterpart has no status whatsoever. Rod
 
Dr. Rodney M. Feldmann
Department of Geology
Kent State University
Kent, OH 44242 USA
Phone: (330) 672-2506
Fax: (330) 672-7949
email: rfeldman at kent.edu 

________________________________

From: paleonet-bounces+rfeldman=kent.edu at nhm.ac.uk on behalf of Jozsef Palfy
Sent: Thu 8/23/2007 10:58 AM
To: paleonet at nhm.ac.uk
Subject: Paleonet: question about holotype specimens



Dear All,

I'm still working on the type catalogue of our museum.

I've bumped into the following problem:

A decapod crustacean species was described and its holotype designated
as a carapax, declared in the publication to be deposited in the Vienna
Nat Hist Museum, whereas the paratypes were deposited in our museum in
Budapest. When checking all the paratypes, I have noticed that we also
have in our holding the external mould of the holotype carapax.

Would our specimen, the external mould, also qualify as holotype, as it
constitutes the fossil record of the same individual? Or should the
holotype be understood as a unique physical fossil specimen, or solely
the one that was stated originally by the author?

I have browsed through the relevant sections of the ICZN but remained
ambiguous. I appeal to your collective wisdom - thanks for any help in
interpretation or comments you may have.

cheers,

Jozsef

--
Jozsef Palfy
Senior Research Scientist
Research Group for Paleontology
Hungarian Academy of Sciences-Hungarian Natural History Museum
POB 137, Budapest, H-1431 Hungary
Phone: +36 1 210-1075/ext. 2310 or +36 1 338 3905
Fax: +36 1 338 2728
E-mail: palfy at nhmus.hu
Web: www.pal.nhmus.hu/~palfy


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