Re: Pegomastax, new heterodontosaurid from South Africa in new Sereno monograph (free pdf!)

[David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

> <(NOTE: One glitch in the  name : mastax "jaw" is feminine in Greek so
> the name should be Pegomastax africana to follow the letter of the
> rules.)>
>
> Theretically, yes; technically, no. And under the current rules of
> the ICZN (4th Edition), should one follow them, it is no longer
> necessary, or even mandatory, to alter the gender of an epithet to
> agree with the genus' epithet.

Well, if you want to get really technical, there's no need (or way) to 
_alter_ the gender because it _already_ agrees. The way I read the rules 
(yes, 4th edition), the correct name is *Pegomastax africana* Sereno, 
2012, and no nomenclatural act is required to make it so, because it 
already is.

"31.2. Agreement in gender. A species-group name, if it is or ends in a 
Latin or latinized adjective or participle in the nominative singular, 
must agree in gender with the generic name with which it is at any time 
combined."
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted-sites/iczn/code/includes/page.jsp?article=31&nfv=#2

I don't see any wiggle room in "must" or "at any time".