Publication and the Code

[Dan Chure <danchure@easilink.com>]

 I am reposting this because it might easily have been missed in a 
flurry of posts about an Allosaurus specimen for sale.  However, this is 
of much broader import that the Allosaurus specimen.

Tom Holtz posted this link:

http://dinosauriainternational.com/downloads/Amphicoelias.pdf


This paper might be of concern because this is a privately published  
monograph, published by a commercial entity digging and selling fossils, 
creates a new taxon that synonymizes a number of long recognized 
distinct sauropod genera into it, and the "new" species' skeletons may 
be up for sale in the future.  The issue of self publication of new taxa 
is occurring with some regularity in the dinosaurian arena of 
paleontology, but could impact any aspect of VP.  Some think the ICZN is 
quite out of date on the self publication issue and have handed down 
some faulty decisions about it in disciplines other than VP.  Others 
think that this is okay and will just sort itself out. I am not of the 
latter opinion.  Nevertheless, I thought that it would be useful for 
members of these list to be aware of this publication and its implications.

Dan