TY - JOUR

T1 - Taxonomy and nomenclature in palaeopalynology: basic principles, current challenges and future perspectives

AU - Gravendyck, Julia

AU - Fensome, Robert A.

AU - Head, Martin J.

AU - Garden, Chicago

AU - Riding, James B.

AU - Bachelier, Julien B.

AU - Turland, Nicholas J.

N1 - Funding Information: Our sincere thanks go to the institutions and collections staff who provided access to collections, samples and permission to print images: Museum für Naturkunde Berlin – Melanie Diebert, Cornelia Hiller, Catrin Puffert; Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Hannover and Spandau – Angela Ehling, Carmen Heunisch, Annette Götz; and the Geological Survey of Austria – Regine Zorn. JG thanks also Wolfram Kürschner (University of Oslo, Norway), who organised the visit to the Geological Survey of Austria, which brought her for the first time in contact with type material and associated challenges discussed in this paper. We thank Thomas Borsch and members of the technical staff: Bettina Giesicke, Kim Govers, Sabine Scheel of the Botanic Garden and Museum Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, for access and service of the microscope. Martin J. Head acknowledges support from a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant. James B. Riding publishes with the approval of the Executive Director, British Geological Survey (NERC). Robert A. Fensome acknowledges support of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), Natural Resources Canada: this is NRCan Contribution number 20210005. We thank Natalia Zavialova (Paleontological Institute Moscow) and an anonymous reviewer, as well as GSC internal reviewer Manuel Bringué, for their constructive feedback and ideas which greatly improved this manuscript. Permission to reproduce images used in was kindly granted by Schweizerbart Science Publishers ( www.schweizerbart.de/journals/palb ), the Geological Survey of Austria, and Walter de Gruyter GmbH.

PY - 2021/10/2

Y1 - 2021/10/2

N2 - Effective communication of taxonomic concepts is crucial to meaningful application in all biological sciences, and thus the development and following of best practices in taxonomy and the formulation of clear and practical rules of nomenclature underpin a wide range of scientific studies. The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (the Code), currently the Shenzhen Code of 2018, provides these rules. Although early versions of the Code were designed mainly with extant plants in mind, the Code has been increasingly used for fossil plants and, in recent decades, for organic-walled microfossils, the study of which is called palaeopalynology, or simply palynology. However, rules embodied in the Code do not fully reflect the needs and practices of this discipline; and taxonomic practices between fossil applications, especially in palynology, have tended to diverge from practices for extant plants. Differences in these rules and practices present specific challenges. We therefore review the Shenzhen Code as it applies to palynology, clarifying procedures and recommending approaches based on best practices, for example, in the designation and use of nomenclatural types. The application of nomenclatural types leads to taxonomic stability and precise communication, and lost or degraded types are therefore problematic because they remove the basis for understanding a taxon. Such problems are addressed using examples from the older European literature in which type specimens are missing or degraded. A review of the three most important conventions for presenting palynological taxonomic information, synonymies, diagnoses/descriptions and illustrations, concludes with recommendations of best practices. Palynology continues to play an important role in biostratigraphy, palaeoenvironmental analyses, and evolutionary studies, and is contributing increasingly to our understanding of past climates and ocean systems. To contribute with full potential to such applied studies, consistent communication of taxonomic concepts, founded upon clear rules of nomenclature, is essential.

AB - Effective communication of taxonomic concepts is crucial to meaningful application in all biological sciences, and thus the development and following of best practices in taxonomy and the formulation of clear and practical rules of nomenclature underpin a wide range of scientific studies. The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (the Code), currently the Shenzhen Code of 2018, provides these rules. Although early versions of the Code were designed mainly with extant plants in mind, the Code has been increasingly used for fossil plants and, in recent decades, for organic-walled microfossils, the study of which is called palaeopalynology, or simply palynology. However, rules embodied in the Code do not fully reflect the needs and practices of this discipline; and taxonomic practices between fossil applications, especially in palynology, have tended to diverge from practices for extant plants. Differences in these rules and practices present specific challenges. We therefore review the Shenzhen Code as it applies to palynology, clarifying procedures and recommending approaches based on best practices, for example, in the designation and use of nomenclatural types. The application of nomenclatural types leads to taxonomic stability and precise communication, and lost or degraded types are therefore problematic because they remove the basis for understanding a taxon. Such problems are addressed using examples from the older European literature in which type specimens are missing or degraded. A review of the three most important conventions for presenting palynological taxonomic information, synonymies, diagnoses/descriptions and illustrations, concludes with recommendations of best practices. Palynology continues to play an important role in biostratigraphy, palaeoenvironmental analyses, and evolutionary studies, and is contributing increasingly to our understanding of past climates and ocean systems. To contribute with full potential to such applied studies, consistent communication of taxonomic concepts, founded upon clear rules of nomenclature, is essential.

KW - Shenzhen Code

KW - best practice

KW - curation

KW - diagnosis

KW - synonymy

KW - types

KW - typification

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107122402&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/01916122.2021.1918279

DO - 10.1080/01916122.2021.1918279

M3 - Article

VL - 45

SP - 717

EP - 743

JO - PALYNOLOGY

JF - PALYNOLOGY

SN - 0191-6122

IS - 4

ER -