[iczn-list] Re: [Zoobank-list] Fwd: NYT: In the Classification Kingdom, Only the Fittest Survive

[Neal Evenhuis]

At 4:26 PM -0700 10/13/05, Doug Yanega wrote:
>As a lighter aside, I noticed the following in the NY Times article 
>Neal EVenhuis forwarded a while back:
>
>>>Not only did Linnaeus shape the naming of life for more than two 
>>>centuries, but he also enjoyed perks including crowning himself 
>>>"prince of botanists" and reviewing his own work as "a masterpiece 
>>>that no one can read too often or admire too much."
>>>
>>>His glories even include being designated as the so-called 
>>>"lectotype," a kind of official scientific specimen to represent, 
>>>for science and for all of time, the species Homo sapiens. Not bad 
>>>for an old-time flower collector.
>
>This is not true. Bakker in 1993 designated the skull of E.D. Cope 
>as the lectotype specimen for Homo sapiens. The NYT reporter fell 
>prey to an urban legend.

Here's another urban legend being promoted. E.D. Cope was not, 
despite the rumors, alive at the time Linnaeus described Homo 
sapiens, so could not have been a part of the type series.

This subject was dealt with by W.T. Stearn (1959. Systematic Zoology 
8:4), but a better tidbit was Gary Rosenberg's email to iczn-list a 
few years ago (copied below) where he pointed out that the only 
specimens that could be selected as a type of Homo sapiens was that 
of the village idiot.

--Neal

*******************

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2003 17:32:09 -0400
From: "Gary Rosenberg" <rosenberg at acnatsci.org>
To: "Zoological Nomenclature Discussion Group" 
<iczn-list at lyris.bishopmuseum.org>
Subject: [iczn-list] Re: subspecies in Linnaeus (1758)
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<LYRIS-417-9007-2003.04.10-11.32.21--neale#bishopmuseum.org at lyris.bishopmuseum.org>

There is an interesting twist to the Linnaean "subspecies" of Homo 
sapiens. As Chris pointed out, Linnaeus (1758, p. 20-22) listed five 
varieties/subspecies under Homo sapiens. However, before these 
varieties he described wild or savage "ferus" Homo sapiens as 
"tetrapus, mutus, hirsutus", with several illustrations or examples 
cited. After each example, I have added in brackets information from 
Seguin (1907, Idiocy: and its Treatment by the Physiological Method) 
taken from http://www.disabilitymuseum.org/lib/docs/1531.htm?page=3

Juvenis Lupinus Hessensis. 1344. [1544, A young man found in Hesse 
among wolves.]
Juvenis Ursinus Lithuanus. 1661. [A young man found among bears in Lithuania.]
Juvenis Ovinus Hibernus. Tulp. Obs. IV. [A young man found among wild 
sheep in Ireland.]
Juvenis Hannoverianus. [1724, A young man found in Hanover.]
Pueri 2 Pyrenaici. 1719. [Two boys found in the Pyrenees.]
Johannes Leodisensis. [Boerhaave. John of Liege.]

Article 72.4.1 of the Code excludes from the type series of a nominal 
species-group taxon specimens referred to as distinct variants. This 
means that specimens of Homo sapiens americanus, europaeus, 
asiaticus, afer, and monstrosus are not part of the type series of 
Homo sapiens and that Linnaeus is not eligible to be the lectotype 
(as designated by W. T. Stearn. 1959. Systematic Zoology 8:4). We are 
thus left to select from among village idiots the lectotype for 
humankind.

Gary