3 replies to this topic

[benxixi]

hi ,

 

does anyoine know why camponotus ca02 called CA02 ?

I tried seach the reason ,but could not find it. 

[Mettcollsuss]

It's a morphotaxon, an unofficial placeholder name given to a species or some specimens. There's no official rules for naming them, though they're usually assigned an abbreviation and number based on either location or the person who's collection they're in. They're used as a placeholder for something undescribed (as is the case with Camponotus us-ca02), or if something is similar to another species but uncertain (Camponotus modoc_nr for example). Most morphotaxa tend to be of rarer species, since the majority of common species have been named by now, though us-ca02 is an exception, it's fairly common and has been known for a while yet has sat unnamed. Luckily, I've heard there's a paper in the works that will describe and name us-ca02 soon.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, February 18 2023 - 9:58 PM.

[gcsnelling]

And in this case the Ca is obviously California, the 02 indicates it is the second apparently undescribed Camponotus the person examined from California.

[benxixi]

It's a morphotaxon, an unofficial placeholder name given to a species or some specimens. There's no official rules for naming them, though they're usually assigned an abbreviation and number based on either location or the person who's collection they're in. They're used as a placeholder for something undescribed (as is the case with Camponotus us-ca02), or if something is similar to another species but uncertain (Camponotus modoc_nr for example). Most morphotaxa tend to be of rarer species, since the majority of common species have been named by now, though us-ca02 is an exception, it's fairly common and has been known for a while yet has sat unnamed. Luckily, I've heard there's a paper in the works that will describe and name us-ca02 soon.

thank you so much