Flag for Taxon: Southeastern Four-eyed Opossum (Philander quica)
| Flagger | Content Author | Content | Reason | Flag Created | Resolved by | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lwnrngr | ccostah | Southeastern Four-eyed Opossum (Philander quica) |
Ungrafted mammal |
Dec. 11, 2020 13:46:36 +0000 | edgar_crispino |
It's a valid taxon based on MDD 2023 |
Comments
We are still frameworked to MDD 2019, which has P. frenatus instead, see https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/42583/taxonomy_details.
Perhaps take a look here https://doi.org/10.1206/3891.1 and reconsider?
Taxon inactivated - why?
Just checked the Mammal Diversity Database and Philander quica is considered a valid taxon (https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#genus=Philander&species=quica&id=1000034). Since iNat follows the taxonomic arrangment presented on this database (https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/85698-update-on-taxon-frameworks) I'm reactivating the taxon.
Hi @lwnrngr @edgar_crispino when implementing a taxon change, please do not just create the new name, without doing a taxon swap. We should not have two different active "taxa" in the database that refer to the same organism: one should have been swapped for the other, after a discussion.
We now have a mess where identifiers are going and individually re-identifying observations of Philander in SE Brazil, when this could have been done automatically through a taxon swap. As @jwidness mentioned, the Curator Guide says we are frameworked to the 2019 version of the database, which recognises P. frenatus. So we'd need to create an explicit deviation.
As the main identifiers @enricotosto96 @michalsloviak are already adopting this change, and it is accepted in the latest version of the Mammal database, I have drafted this swap and my inclination is implement it to reduce unnecessary identifier work, but I would appreciate any input:
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxon_changes/137359
It affects a few more observations than it appears, because many are in Philander sp. limbo at the moment. However, it is not a huge number - I see 39 observations of Philander in the range of this species.
@deboas I would go ahead and commit, as the situation with re-identifications is getting messy
see this flag where addition of the new taxa has been OKed https://www.inaturalist.org/flags/492401. However, there is more than just quica to deal with!
looks like there needs to be:
1) a split of P.opossum into opossum, canus, melanurus and vossi
2) a split of andersoni into andersoni and nigratus
3) the swap of frenatus into quica
4) a taxon merge of olrogi and mondolfii into canus.
I've drafted #4, for the splits there will need to be atlases etc. In the meantime I think we should inactivate canus, melanurus, vossi and nigratus until the splits are drafted
@deboas and @rjq thanks for the clarifications regarding the species of Philander here in Brazil. Just to clarify, I didn't created any new names, just reactivated existing names that where inactivated here on iNat but where recognized by the MDD. In the flag that is tagged here, this discussion had been Oked but was pending for several months now. Since @enricotosto96 and other brazilian users came to me wanting to know why a valid name was inactivated here on iNat, and seeing that the modifications were greenlit but pending, I just gave the first kick to have it in motion. I can work out on the other splits and swaps involving the aforementioned taxa so we can have everything in order.
Thanks @rjq and @edgar_crispino! And apologies if I came off sounding accusative. It seems like quica might have been added initially automatically as an ungrafted taxon, but the taxon history doesn't go back far enough to see. I committed the swap, so #3 on rjq's list is done. It would be great if you can work on the other splits and swaps, Edgar, thanks!
The most important thing will be to create Atlases for these species, and include the geographic units where they are found. The maps in the Philander paper aren't the most helpful as they don't show admin boundaries below those of country level, but I've gone ahead and made the atlas for P. quica - comments welcome.
I also created a deviation for P. quica here: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxon_framework_relationships/744166
UPDATE: I am not sure this deviation is accurate, as the 2019 database is no longer available to check, and this deviation seems to suggest that P. quica was already accepted there in 2019.
Ideally we want new distribution map KMLs for each species, if they don't already have them. In the case of quica it inherited the map from frenatus.
I made a new flag on P. opossum for discussion to take place there about that split: https://www.inaturalist.org/flags/644839
@deboas thanks for the flag regarding P. opossum and the swap for #3! Originally P. quica was ungrafted, so I had to edit the taxon to associate it with Philander. I'll work on searching the KLM maps for the other species if they exist, if not I'll make them myself based on the publications and datasets I'm gathering. I'll post updates here about the progress!
Excellent, thanks Edgar! If the species are in the IUCN Red List or NatureServe databases they may have an existing range map you can download. If not, you may need to make them.
If you need to make them, the best way is to download the existing P. opossum map and then use that as the base, bearing in mind that some species of Philander have overlapping ranges.
https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#species-id=1000034