ppenTIFICATION umber of very different activities are usu; identification. They all involve the identiga of previous} 'Y un- fed material, but for very different purpo: eaten ap . A ses, (Se distinction between identification ‘and classi chaters land 6 sification.) word ined under the jdent for the sorting of Collections II material gathered on collecting trips and iti and at least tentatively identified before it canes doen be sorted jection. The first rough sorting of freshly collected material is ie ya inthe field. An entomologist may keep specimens of tiferent done from different hosts in separate containers. Collections made hoe ie oceanographic expeditions are often roughly sorted immediately, in van because different kinds of animals may require different methods of pres- eration. After the specimens have been properly preserved and labeled, the usual practice is to segregate unstudied material down to orders and, whenever possible, to families or even genera. Such material is then e specialist, who can undertake precise identification. tative identification requires skill and experience. When s are involved, the establishment of a special sorting or visable. The Smithsonian Institution in Washington main- sonian Oceanographic Sorting Center (SOSC), which is e preliminary sorting of the material gathered by the In- ition and other oceanographic expeditions. When La or genus, the material is shipped to the specialists W ions depends on the nature (larvae or adults, microscopic in size oF not a i conomy of a given group and in a given Beane a prob tification at the species level is ea ress ell subspecific identification may be. dil gn an pe avalk for which no recent revisions, keys» orn . ification may be possible only down . us. - ry 8 f the er ooloeist should ee 7 " known to him.) Atal jbed species ne specimen, even Scanned with CamScanner938 pant c: METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES al knowledge. It is now reali proach. When accessions are sorteg a yerne ented only t0 the level (or” i Or ; cialist. It is fa 7 family) where they become available 10 the ec mice more eg pens ataxonomis paral nomical and important for a (aXo! ‘dentificati on of mew monographs and keys than (0 atte identification down tg jr Sata Nah he or she is not familiar. . ci groups about which they had no speck that this is a very wasteful 2D) modern zoological muscum, the: species level in group: with wl taltate are Moreover, identifications by nonspecilit ae vcterminag S. Moy large collections contain numerous examples IONS. The ‘a series might have been quite authentic in such were subsequently added without Critical ‘nation labels by experts. Such misdete,, han does leaving the material unidentiieg original specimen in cases, but other specimens \ analysis and without determm minations cause more trouble t until it can be studied by an expert. Determination Labels Sooner or later all material in collections is seen by a qualified taxono- mist or specialist who is able to identify it to species. Each specimen or each series should be labeled when such identification is made. The de- termination label should give the scientific (generic and specific) name and author, along with the name of the determiner and the year in which the identification was made. With this information entered for every specimen, the authenticity of the determination is established, and its de- pendability can be readily evaluated at any subsequent date on the basis of progress which may have been made in the study of the group during the intervening years. In bird and mammal collections these names are usually written in pencil so that they can be changed easily if there isa change of nomenclature. lentification of Individual Specimens 1 taxonomist is frequently called upon to identify a particular spec n or species. If such identification is highly important for a special re rch project in applied biology or experimental zoology, a taxonomist | gladly make every effort to identify the species on which the ch is based. However, it is not the job of the taxonomist to undertake routine identification of ecological collections or archaeological ™ . Such identification work is the responsibility of the ecologist of ologist who wants the material identified. here are federal and state agencies charged with the responsibilty tifying economically important animals. These agencies employ v ts, to each of whom a particular group is assigned. The research Scanned with CamScanneroS HONS AND, "Oem Fean i 10 PI contrast, is not re i 39 pois Ey ihe productivity ree for routine iden: ing ce Rieiien Fesearch museum a Mification int ‘il miscellaneous I lentification demands by the More than, atte Nort © SOY the public. ™Mpting gs of Identification nan a rank beginner trying to identity a speci Bi a spider, a grasshopper, or a buttery aay Usually tell that it to keys and manuals for the appropriate zoologi in then immediately peeinnely however, will have trouble with all but pag soups. The rec of animals. When in doubt about the order to which an common kinds the beginner should try the simple keys given in ies hae belongs, handbooks. Even the advanced student may Sacra and or immature OF exotic forms that cannot be placed on si ae : family or order. However, modern works are generally avail me Proper rovide family and subfamily keys to assist in this stage of ident bie New handbooks, keys, field guides, and bibliographies are pablished every year, and any listing, such as that provided by Mayr (1969:114- 115), is soon out of date. Every natural history library can provide titles This is also true for faunal works covering specific countries in Asia, ‘Australasia, Africa, and South America. There is hardly a region in the world not covered by a reasonably modern fauna of mammals, birds, but- terflies, or other better known groups. Identification is vastly more difficult when no convenient keys and als are available. The beginner is advised not to attempt it. fa ph or technical revision of recent date is available (see below for find such literature), the specimen is run through the keys. the ion of the appropriate species is checked character by character cimen is compared with any illustration that may beg d geographic distribution is checked. [fall these Po ation is considered as tentatively made, subject a thentic specimens and provided that no aadiionl rete speci bsequently been described. For further details on wing sections. When no recent monograp! oa one but a specialist should attempt @ deter! see ill not waste time trying to identify single SP& exceptional conditions specified above- case of 8 aps in the Or of ist, except Pe the preparation animals: Scanned with CamScanneress—the determi 1 OF the g ncess of identification only ine esi The early part of the proc revisio the pro to be classified—res eee ette are described in Chapters 5 angi ways. 1 ee can be sta 6, Hf er, before the actu | work of revising be started, the t entero mens and the literature, Le,“ i or the needed speci : ‘, onomist must gather the needed SPUC tribe of beetles feet 84s, sume the wants to revise a Cel rom Soy i st has completed a first examinati Atier ineiahocea collection, the next task is town s “ a aofS lo the major museums whose scope includes the Coleoptera of South Amer. ica and ask for a loan of their material. During Suc | correspondence the taxonomist may discover that another taxonomist has also Started t0 f¢, vise this group; it will then be necessary to negotiate with the other g cialist about how to divide the task. In the case of large collections Tich in types, the taxonomist will have to make arrangements to visit these my, seums rather than ask for a loan of the material. The tracing of literature is usually far more difficult than the tracing of the available material. One may start with a general biological bibliogra. phy such as Smith and Reid's Guide to the Literature of the Life Sciences (8th ed. 1972) and Besterman’s Biological Sciences (1971). An excellent source is R. W. Sims’s Animal Identification: A Reference Guide (1980) For vertebrates, one can consult Blackwelder’s Guide to the Taxonomic Literature of Vertebrates (1972); for insects, Gilbert and Hamilton's En- tomology: A Guide to Information Sources (1983). There are also many very specialized bibliographies such as Skarbilovich’s Bibliography of Russian Literature on Nematodes (1985) (605 pages!). Every better l- brary will help the beginner become familiar with the available biblio- phic resources. When there is no recent monograph or revision, the most recent cat- log for the group should be consulted. The catalog will give literature ations pointing to the descriptions of all species known up to the time its completion. Some catalogs furnish even more information, ¢.2+ mplete bibliographies under each genus and species, lists of synonyms, id geographic distribution. Taxonomic research is greatly facilitated bY ood catalog, because the catalog brings together the most significant blished references to the group being studied. rence to Current Bibliographies ate soon after they are published. Th 2 Compensated for by the issuance of SUPP i" eless, it is not at all unusual to find that even the m0S ears old. In some of the major insect orders 10 &°" Scanned with CamScannerhas been prepared si cali ince 1999), ea cataloged from a world standpoint, + and some ar ve unatel» there is an unusual bib; ou PS have Never zoology, @ great reference bibliography ic we Of the fi pense for taxonomic sven emt The ele et to the present. Each new scientific nan sPPeated eee cord, Is gi ce to the place of publicatio Siven, cfetonet phabetically under families, bot oe os sved for families and higher groups. Cur rately by purchase or subscription, an “ajor libraries. Veen The Zoological Record, formerly publi London in cooperation with the eee onogia Society ow published by Biosis (Philadelphia). The followin pn History), is Malogical Record are published separately and Ca be ans The or singly each year: (1) Comprehensive Zoology. Paes asa era, (4) Coelenterata, (5) Echinodermata, (6) Vermes, tra, 6) . (8) Bryozoa, (9) Mollusca, (10) Crustacea, (11) Trilobita veers Pr and Myriapoda, (13) Insecta, (14) Protochordata,’(15) Pisces, (16) Amphibia, (17) Reptilia, (18) Aves, (19) Mammalia, 20) List of New Ge- neric and Subgeneric Names. These sections can be ordered from Biosis, 2100 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1399. The most common method of using The Zoological Record is to start ith the most recent volume and work back to the date of completion of recent catalog or revision. The genus or other group in question ted in the table of contents of the section devoted to the par s of animal. New names, synonymies, distributions. and in ces even biological references are given. If the citation is not use of its abbreviated form or if the exact ttle of the publica- rtant, reference can be made to the bibliography ¢ i by author at the beginning of the section. For heat toe elaborate subject index that covers various phas physiology, ecology, and biology. graphed: ‘oups of animals have never been cataloged ae a ry cially true among insects. For these Ee 1 (86!) gh the entire Zoological Record back to Vor t annual review of the taxonomic fiver ange in Berichte iiber die wissenschafilichen eth pul logy, including entomology and heli Tren tr eal aula) are available Plete sets are held by Scanned with CamScannerES 342. PART C: METHODOLOGICAL ISSU! hichte (Berlin, 1835 et seq), 44. a . jir Naturge: 7 : i i. in Wiegmann’s Archiv fiir covering this early period of zor iy ional i i hic aids f ci tional important bibliograp! eee sd (1848), ad) . _ Agassiz and S jand ca include Engelmann (1846) aad Society (1800-185) cienti published by the ly (I 3). shee Seer inden Animale (1758-1800, ee a complete lis ‘ generic and specific names proposed up (0 1, ‘ave’s Ny, rca ©'S Nomen, slater Zootogieus (1939-1940, 1950, 1966, 1975) lists all generic names, the period 1758-1965. Nominal Species and Zoological Species Not all names (nominal species) found in the literature represent differen zoological species. Many individual variants have been erroneously de. scribed as separate species. Chapters 4 and 3 give instructions on how tp determine which names refer to valid species and which refer to intra. specific phena. Equally troublesome are cases where similar (or not very similar) spe. cies masquerade under the same name. The correct determination of the actual zoological species in the group to be revised is the most important basic step in taxonomic research. It requires consulting original descriptions (or improved redescriptions), surveying authentic specimens, and, in any authoritative revision or monograph, studying the actual type specimens. ginal Description jough the secondary literature is often a great help, reference should ays be made to original and more recent authoritative description less this is done, one cannot be sure that misidentifications in the se literature have been found and corrected. Original descriptioas located by means of catalogs, monographs, the Zoological Record. ¥ bibliographic sources, as described above. ‘opies of the original descriptions may be difficult to find. Even th est libraries are not complete, and the average university library n found to be wanting. This is not so much a reflection on the calibe™ braries as it is evidence of the extent and diversity of scientitic Pu jons throughout the world. Although largely confined to a half doz" tages, taxonomic papers are published in practically every cout! sheer size of this literature poses a problem for libraries with limite! he situation is further complicated because the priority ™ pon earlier works. No taxonomic work published sit a ew names, and as a result of Mi ‘i a copit® ¢ Scanned with CamScanneros ey for photocopies of the pi TTFICATIOg, ange 7 Paves of periodic, M3 quent als they have is oft TO consutt fe en comnn 7 ramiliarity wainPlicated, Hi ence to the Ly, ith ANd se ont, it cal " es for imerlibrary ft Stilley ofl services and other copying devic rary loan, extens) rials to ty. - exchange Wi ° ACCU MUlati VE Use chase OF exch nge ith other workers, and aca an Of reprints of mi pescriptions are the foundation of taxonomy. «io Photocy a relatively permanent. Types may b fan since only the princy ‘lable for only a brief spa ¢ lost, and the med are availa” ya brief span of years to pas Ne OFiginal authors ‘The original description should be read sever MN On “their's ast impression oF mental picture of the ver times, first to obtain a siipor studied. Then the characters that the ongaalrania the original ent authors considered particularly important should be ees checked against the specimens in question. Finally Piaepecos notes given by the original author should be checked. Sock coma Characters are the most useful clues to identification. an Original descrip ns are normally the court of last appeal for purposes of general identification. However, many of them are inadequate, partic- ularly those published prior to 1800. The value of a description is in di- rect proportion to the judgment of the author and the author's 2b select significant characters and describe them in words. Also important are the extent and nature of the material available to the author 2t the time of description. For these reasons, d authoritative monograph of recent date are usual inal descriptions are. illustrations are often as valuable as or mor iptions, particularly when there are Janguag' groups as birds or butterflies. many monos plates, which are often a great help in imens. Colored plates are not always well tenn em re are many opportunities for error if too muc Ps them. rch for original descriptions al, to the searcher are full £ ies, rete word jescriptions given 1s @ thorough 2 ly more usable # ¢ valuable than original && e difficulties. In such POP” raphic works contain ce he rapid ident tion of roduced, howevet> rn is plac p illustration he chat a stration, 1 an illu on companied by a Ite ontlict ie the original description is a s companies ay Ts of illustration and those of description mal ; s be proved that the artist did not have * used another in the belief that It agreed ie Pthors- re not infrequent in the works of e# ‘ks 0 sable valuad! the Type are much 100 000" t authentic source but he course of a e most 4 ly, in ions. Ideally: ie identification Scanned with CamScanner344 PARTC: METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES jmens should be reexamin, ually known and can be aie! At terpretation of character gi! at Ci graphic study of a group, all ‘ype sree this time the significant characters ie using the same technique 7 ihe) ee lied to the rest of the ma . are applied to ies it is not always necessary to have type s i bspeci y t In work with subsp no question as to the identity of the 5 imens for comparison if there is en cies. However, a series of specimens from the type locality opotypieg specimens) is desirable to provide info ability of the subspecies. mation on the characters and a Scanned with CamScanner