(272–273) Add a new Note to Article 41 and amend Recommendation 41A.2 to clarify what is and what is not allowed as a page reference for a basionym or replaced synonym citation

Abstract

Confusion surrounds the indication of a page reference required by Art. 41.5 of the Shenzhen Code (Turland & al. in Regnum Veg. 159. 2018) for valid publication of a new combination, name at new rank or replacement name. In recent years there has been a proliferation of online publications that have a diverse array of possible indications of page numbers. This has caused issues for authors of new combinations and replacement names regarding what to cite to allow for valid publication under Art. 41.5. Recently the designation “Epigeneium nageswarayanum” (Agrawala & al. in Mao & Dash, Fl. Pl. India Annot. Checkl. Monocot.: 50. 2020) was published with the basionym citation as: “Dendrobium nageswarayanum Chowlu, Natl. Acad. Sci. Lett. (2020), https://doi.org/10.1007/s40009-020-00919-x”. The DOI link in this case refers to the entire article in which the basionym is published, which is coextensive with the protologue of the basionym. However, this citation does not constitute a page reference as required by Art. 41.5; therefore, the new combination is not validly published. Authors may feel forced to use such indications when unpaginated early-view papers are published online. Sometimes PDF documents do not have page numbers included on the pages of the article but, instead, page numbers are automatically generated as part of the electronic PDF format. There are also traditional issues with books in print lacking page numbers. We therefore propose a new Note to make clear what is and what is not allowed as a page reference for a basionym or replaced synonym citation, in line with current practice. This will provide clarity for authors and reduce the number of disagreements among users of a name. “Note 1bis. For publications lacking page numbers, a page reference can be achieved by a clear indication of the page or pages on which the protologue of the basionym or replaced synonym appears by: (a) citing an assumed page number when there is continuous pagination; (b) citing the page number automatically generated within the PDF of an electronic publication; (c) using the words “without page number”, “sine pagina”, “s.p.” or similar; or (d) including any indication that refers to the exact page on which the protologue appears, for example citing the species number, or the words “addition” or “supplement” if indicated as such on the page. The citation of a DOI or URL to the web page on which the electronic paper appears is not sufficient for page indication even if the entire publication is coextensive with the protologue.” “41A.2. In the absence of established tradition, if publications are not paginated, page numbers indicated according to Art. 41 Note 1bis(a), (b), or (c) should be referenced with enclosed in square brackets.”