Paleonet: Expressing uncertainty

[Pierre & Peta Kruse]

David
As per previous common usage, in your example of ?*Agenus species*, it is
only the genus that is in question. Similarly, *Agenus* ?*aspecies* means
that the species is questionable, and ?*Agenus* ?*aspecie*s means that both
genus and species are questionable. No ambiguity whatsoever is created by
placing the ? before the taxon name to which it refers.
Best
Pierre

On Thu, 10 Dec 2020 at 12:29, David Holloway <dhollow at museum.vic.gov.au>
wrote:

> The ? should always follow the questioned taxonomic name, never before, so
> inconsistency is not an issue. Clarity of meaning is the important
> criterion. Placing the ? before the generic name is open to ambiguity – is ?*Agenus
> aspecies* questioning the genus or species, or both?
>
>
>
> David
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Paleonet <paleonet-bounces+dhollow=museum.vic.gov.au at paleonet.org>
> *On Behalf Of *Pierre & Peta Kruse
> *Sent:* Wednesday, 9 December 2020 9:29 AM
> *To:* PaleoNet <paleonet at paleonet.org>
> *Subject:* Re: Paleonet: Expressing uncertainty
>
>
>
> Aagh! Why should the ? follow the taxon name, when all the others precede
> it? I can't stand this inconsistency! For consistency's sake, put the ?
> before the taxon name, not after it. What's so sacrosanct about *Agenus*?
> *aspecies*??
>
> Pierre
>
>
>
> On Wed, 9 Dec 2020 at 02:23, Plotnick, Roy E <plotnick at uic.edu> wrote:
>
> I have a specimen from a new locality that I can with some, but not
> complete certainty, assign to an existing species. In the Systematic
> Paleontology section of the paper, what is the best way to formally express
> this uncertainty?  Where does the “?” go?
>
>
>
> While we are it , what is the current best practice for describing
> uncertainty of identification or taxonomic placement; i.e., what is the
> modern usage of .aff, .cf, ?, sp., incertae sedis, and so on.  Is there a
> standard reference on usage?
>
> Thanks - Roy
>
>
>
> Roy E. Plotnick
> Professor Emeritus
>
> Department of Earth and Environmental Sciencessp.,
> University of Illinois at Chicago
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>
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>
> Blog: https://medium.com/@plotnick
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>
> "The scientific celebrities, forgetting their molluscs and glacial
> periods, gossiped about art, while devoting themselves to oysters and ices
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>
>
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