Tag Archives: The Genus Question

The Genus Question — Impact of New Archosaurian Binomina

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Jaime A. Headden

So, what exactly would happen if — as I suggested both here and mentioned in the comments here — we went down that slippery slope, and distinguished all species as their own unique, equivalent taxa? How many new “genus”-like names … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Systematics, Taxonomy | Tagged , | 17 Comments

In Which I Talk About “Genera” – Again

Posted on August 4, 2012 by Jaime A. Headden

This post is about taxonomy and “The Genus Question.” If you do not want to read, I suggest not going below the fold. If you wish to continue, you will be rewarded with a pretty picture. The Paleobiology Database, is … Continue reading →

Posted in Paleobiology, Paleontology, Taxonomy | Tagged | 8 Comments

Something Is Wrong Here

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Jaime A. Headden

Eugene Gaffney, turtle expert from the American Museum of Natural History & David Krause, mammal expert from the Department of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University, both in New York State, US, have recently described  a new fossil pelomedusoid turtle … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Taxonomy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Whether Clades Should Have No Name

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Jaime A. Headden

I am posting this here because I don’t want to log down Darren’s blog with my comment, where he has posted his perspective on the new paper, so it’s going here. Valentine Fischer, Michael Maisch, and a host of other … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Science Reporting, Taxonomy | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

I Cannot Compel to Reason: Triceratops, We Done It Again

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Jaime A. Headden

Earlier this year, Andy Farke took the opportunity of  a remodel to assess the skull of that classic of classic dinosaurs, Nedoceratops hatcheri. Formally named by Richard Swan Lull (completing a monograph that first OC Marsh had begun but uncompleted … Continue reading →

Posted in Biological Comparison, Paleontology, Philosophy, Science Reporting, Systematics, Taxonomy | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

New Domes, New Interpretations

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Jaime A. Headden

Thanks to Bob Sullivan, many of his co-authored publications from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (NMNHS) Bulletin are now available online (which you can find here). I talked about one of them, naming new oviraptorosaurs Ojoraptorsaurus … Continue reading →

Posted in Paleontology, Science Reporting, Systematics, Taxonomy | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Expanding the Known Oviraptoverse

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Jaime A. Headden

Normally I wait a few days to post something, but as the last post is a technical post that only seems to get the attention of func-morph people, I’ll throw some meat out here. This one comes courtesy Andrea Cau … Continue reading →

Posted in Paleontology, Science Reporting | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Nanotyrannus Nomore!?

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Jaime A. Headden

Nanotyrannus is everyone’s favorite tyrannosaur, as long as it’s right behind the big guy, Tyrannosaurus, itself. It’s been lovingly depicted and aggressively championed by such notable figures as Robert Bakker, and supported less enthusiastically but no less masterfully by Philip … Continue reading →

Posted in Paleontology, Science Reporting, Taxonomy | Tagged , , | 23 Comments

“Taste” Versus “Science”

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Jaime A. Headden

My recent discussion on the value of “originalism” has led to some interesting comments from respondents Mickey Mortimer and Mike Taylor. As I respect both of them, but disagree, I will post their comments in full below and respond to … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Taxonomy | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Systematic Originalism

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Jaime A. Headden

On occasion, systematists feel the need to revise the taxonomy of various species, placing species into new genera, or lumping them in with other species in earlier-named genera. This is generally supported by phylogenetic analyses, but sometimes it involves an … Continue reading →

Posted in Paleontology, Philosophy, Systematics | Tagged , | 10 Comments