Hi All! Im looking for examples of taxonomies for different groups that have changed over time. For example, in the Mimulus clade that used to study, the number of described species has fluctuated between 2 and 13 species, as different taxonomists revised the group. Ideally, I'd like to be able to show the timeline in number of species varying across multiple taxonomic revisions for the same group. I don't what the organism is.
For a clarification, I'm not just looking for groups where the taxonomy has changed (this is literally true for all groups), but temporal summaries (timelines) of how the number of species has changed across different revisions.
Hello Sean; You can find many examples in Ant taxonomy. Look up the genera Lasius and Formica for some contemporary examples. Best regards, Jim Des Lauriers
Thanks, James! I can Imagine taxonomies are always changing for ants! Do you know of any papers that actually summarise the major changes to Lasius/Formica taxonomies over time?
Sean; Here are the exact titles of some papers that might interest you. All of them can be found on ResearchGate or Google Scholar. Enjoy jousting with the lumpers and splitters! Best regards, Jim Des Lauriers.
1. Do Holarctic ant species exist? Trans-Beringian dispersal and homoplasy in the Formicidae
2. Acrobat ants go global – Origin, evolution and systematics of the genus Crematogaster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
3. A subgeneric revision of Crematogaster and discussion of regional species-groups (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
4. Taxonomy in the phylogenomic era: species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships among North American ants of the Crematogaster scutellaris group (Formicidae: Hymenoptera)
5. The many ways to delimit species: hairs, genes and surface chemistry
6. A taxonomic revision of the Formica rufibarbis FABRICIUS, 1793 group (Hymeno- ptera: Formicidae)
7. The ant genus Strumigenys Smith, 1860 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in western North America North of Mexico.
Hey Sean,
Available vs named diversity accumulation at a given taxonomic rank can be graphed to show changes in knowledge of a group over time.
See this paper (doi.org/10.1093/mollus/eyaa034)for an example of the kind of graph I’m talking about. It tracks the number of available vs valid names in a freshwater bivalve clade over time.
If you’re interested in smaller groups, I maintain one for the genus of land snails I study which I have not yet published that I could share privately if you’re interested.
-Nate
Hi Nathaniel,
Thanks for your response. This is exactly the type of analysis that I'm interested in. I'll dm you!
Hi Sean,
the orchid genus Ophrys also comprises between 9 and 354 species according to authors and criteria.
Cheers,
Joris
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