Taxonomy Update

[Pete Eeles]

Just to let members know that the taxonomy listing (upon which most things on UKB are based) has been "refreshed" based on:

a) A list of errata listed in the Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation.
b) Addition errata that I have spotted and passed on to the BMNH.
c) A meeting I had with Chris Raper, one of the team that looks after the taxonomy at the BMNH.

A big change is that the authorities against the various taxa (species, genera, families etc.) is now correct, and conforms to the ICZN conventions (for annotations). A summary of authorities is now available on this new page of the website:

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/taxonomy_authorities.php

The old listing is still there:

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/taxonomy.php

And a summary of the application of the Agassiz checklist on UKB is given here:

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/taxonomy_agassiz.php

All of these items now sit under the Biology -> Taxonomy menu. Agassiz (2013) does not provide the authority for taxa that are "higher" than genus, but Chris has given me some excellent pointers for determining these - my next job!

And if you're wondering why any of this is relevant, I personally find that understanding why a certain species belongs to a certain genus (and subgenus), tribe, subfamily and family to be a great way of really understanding the composition of species we have in the British Isles (and it also provides a framework for thinking about all species on planet earth). Adrian Hoskin's excellent "Butterflies of the World" takes a similar approach. Once I've sourced the authorities for the higher-order taxa, then expect all of the gaps on the "taxa" pages to be completed; an example is here:

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/subgenus ... hipparchia

As ever, all comments welcome.

Cheers,

- Pete