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Type: Article
Published: 2018-12-20
Page range: 65–68
Abstract views: 249
PDF downloaded: 193

“If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice”

Setor de Herpetologia, Departamento de Vertebrados, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 20940-040, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Laboratório de Répteis, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Setor de Herpetologia, Departamento de Vertebrados, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 20940-040, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Laboratório de Répteis, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Setor de Herpetologia, Departamento de Vertebrados, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 20940-040, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Taxonomy Nomenclature Systematics Zoological classification Stability

Abstract

Stability is an essential feature both to taxonomy and nomenclature. However, zoology is recently being flooded with countless proposals of taxonomic and/or nomenclatural changes, some of which may be considered premature when poorly supported or based upon overestimated hypotheses. We emphasize that the choice of not proposing nomenclatural and/or taxonomic changes might be as relevant as proposing new hypotheses and, therefore, must be carefully considered. Despite being apparently obvious and intuitive, this option seems to be only rarely cogitated.

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