Theses as media for effective publication: new data for an old problem

Abstract

Prior to the St. Louis Congress, Farjon (1998) submitted a proposal to clarify the position of theses as media for effective publication. He suggested that theses should not be considered a means of effective publication unless they bore an International Standard Book Number (ISBN). The Special Committee on Harmonization reporting to the St. Louis Congress was favourable to the proposal, but the Rapporteurs noted that it would likely be considered as discriminatory by botanists in many countries, including those of the developing world (Greuter & Hawksworth, 1999: 101). The preliminary mail vote revealed quite strong opposition to the proposal (Art. 30, Prop. D): yes 74; no 129; Editorial Committee 8; Special Committee 5 (34.3% in favour) (Barrie & Greuter, 1999; Greuter & al., 2000b: 141). The subject was intensely discussed during the Nomenclature Section of the XVI International Botanical Congress (Greuter & al., 2000b: 141-154) and finally failed to gain the necessary 60% majority on a card vote (yes 354; no 349; 50.4% in favour). As noted in the report of the Nomenclature Section (Greuter & al., 2000b: 154), D. Keil then presented a motion that was accepted to the effect that, considering the defeat of Art. 30 Prop. D and the registration proposals, and in view of the uncertain status of names and typifications proposed in theses, dissertations, and other so-called grey literature, a Special Committee to study the effectiveness of publication of such literature be established. This contribution is intended to help restart the discussion as well as to contribute to the deliberations of the Special Committee by presenting some examples of nomenclatural novelties and typifications that first appeared in theses and which were deliberately published later in regular and widely distributed journals. Such examples are taken entirely from Brazilian theses. In all the examples below, the authors did not make totally clear whether they considered their own theses media for effective publication. However, such theses have occasionally been considered by other authors to be means of effective publication. An unmistakable example of the latter is that of Pteris denticulata Sw. var. tristicula (Raddi) Prado below. All theses in Brazil must be considered printed matter since they are reproduced by xerox copying and are di tributed to more than one scientific library. Such a situation fulfils the minimum requirements for effective publication according to the St. Louis Code (Greuter & al., 2000a: Art. 29.1). Excellent discussions regarding the meaning of printed matter and the criteria for effective publ cation appear in Weresub & McNeill (1980), Brummitt (1980), and Nicolson (1980). In the following examples, two typifications and five nomenclatural novelties were clearly presented in theses as novelties. In all cases, these novelties were presented str ctly following conditions for priorable typification or valid publication of names according to the ICBN, e.g., as a new combination or a new status.