This page describes the conventions used for constructing conditional and provisional names used in BioData.
BenchTaxonName | Applicable Taxonomic Groups |
|
sp. nr. | invertebrates | 1) Means "species near" |
cf. | algae, fish, invertebrates | 1) Means "confer" |
/ | fish, invertebrates | 1) Used to denote two or more taxa that are unresolvable or where only two taxa are known in a monophyletic group |
sp. 1 or sp. A | fish, invertebrates | 1) Refers to provisional taxa reported in the literature where their specific identity remains unknown; also known as "operational taxonomic units" or "OTUs" 2) Provisional designation is reported exactly as it appears in the literature 3) A BenchTaxonNameReferenceCode is required to support this type of name |
BenchTaxonName_Analyst | algae | 1) Used for algal taxa that have not been described formally, with the format "BenchTaxonName TaxonAnalystInitials" 2) Example: Hippodonta sp. 19_SAS |
sp. 1 ? | algae | 1) Genus names followed by "sp. 1 ?", "sp. 2 ?", "sp. 3 ?", etc. refer to unique species within the sample, but the species name (epithet) has not been determined. 2) These designations are used for taxa that are rare in a sample and may not be identified with confidence. These names are to be used to determine the number of unique taxa within a sample. That is, the names distinguish taxa that are different within a sample, but not across samples. For example, Sample #1 contains Navicula sp. 1 ?, Navicula sp. 2 ? and Navicula sp. 3 ?, which are 3 undistinguished species within the sample. If Sample #2 also contains Navicula sp. 1 ?, this taxon may (or may not) be the same as in Sample #1. 3) NOTE that within a sample with only one unknown species in "Genus", Genus sp. is equivalent to Genus sp. 1 ? |
group | fish, invertebrates | 1) Denotes a group of more than two closely related species that cannot be separated or organisms that can be reliably placed in a species group where determination to species is unsupported |
complex | algae, fish, invertebrates | 1) Denotes a species for which there may be considerable variation suggesting two or more cryptic species |
n. sp. | fish, invertebrates | 1) Means "new species" |
Other conditional or provisional designations | fish, invertebrates | 1) Reported exactly as they appear in the reference from which they were obtained |