Modern Taxonomy, Reality, and Usefulness

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Abstract
Darlington, P. J., Jr. (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.) 1971. Modern taxonomy, reality, and usefulness. Syst. Zool., 20:341–365.—This paper combines criticism of some theoretical (especially numerical) taxonomy with detailed description of an actual example of good modern practical taxonomy. Proximate purposes of taxonomic work aret diverse, but the ultimate purpose is to produce classifications that will be most useful for storing and retrieving information for all branches of modern organismic-evolutionary biology. Tests and judgments of taxonomic work are diverse, but the final test is use in practice. Biological species present difficulties which are handled in different ways by numerical and by modern practical taxonomists; some numerical taxonomists seem to be “slipping off into a kind of scientism which brings an appearance of precision by the abandonment of reality.” New methods should be judged by their usefulness and cost, in time as well as money. Three usually unwritten rules of good practical taxonomy are to do only useful work, to do specific tasks with the available material in the available time, and to use appropriate and only appropriate procedures. The example of modern taxonomy chosen for discussion is Lindroth's “The ground-beetles (Carabidae) of Canada and Alaska.” Details are given as to how the work was done (during a time span of twenty years), how it differs from earlier work (taking successive treatments of Bembidion as an example), and how it can be and is being used. A threshold exists in taxonomy below which taxonomists deal somewhat unrealistically with dead specimens and above which they deal with living populations in nature. Some resources, prerequisites, and procedures of modern practical taxonomy are listed and discussed. Type specimens continue to be essential in taxonomy; they or “voucher specimens” should be used by all organismic-evolutionary biologists, to assure that organisms being worked with can be known with certainty. Practical taxonomy provides a “floor plan” for more detailed taxonomic, ecologic, zoogeographic, and evolutionary studies. Lindroth's taxonomy includes description of the wing dimorphism of many Carabidae; the dimorphically winged species have special uses in studies of evolution and zoogeography, including studies of Pleistocene history. The place of museums in modern taxonomy is discussed, taking Lindroth's use of the Museum of Comparative Zoology as an example; in this case (as in many others) the museum has made an essential contribution to the kind of taxonomy that is a prerequisite for modern ecology, zoogeography, and study of evolution in nature. The primary characteristic of good modern practical taxonomy is a return to reality, effected by continual comparisons with situations in nature.

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