In an occurrence record, a taxon name can be given in a format like a)
"Pristimantis cf. achatinus" or b) "Pristimantis aff. achatinus" (also possible
for genera or higher taxa). cf. and aff. are identification qualifiers that
inform of an approximate determination (cf. roughly equals "not sure", aff.
"similar to, but is not"). The current data portal omits the qualifier from
display and downloads, which is misrepresenting the identification.
These qualifiers are not part of the taxon name, but of the identification
record, and have been included by the person identifying the organism in order
to express a) insecurity about the application of the taxon name, or b)
confirmation that the applied name (part) is not the correct taxon name. In
Darwin Core and ABCD, separate data elements allow to transfer this information
in addition to the name string. Some data publishers, however, leave this
marker included as part of the name string and do not add a separate qualifier
entry.
These qualifiers, where existing, should
- not be included in taxonomic trees
- always be included in identification name strings (display of overview lists,
occurrence details, downloads, potentially occurrence-generated checklists etc.)
Identifications carrying a qualifier should be matched to the core taxonomy
only to the next higher, safely identified rank.
They should potentially (optionally?) be excluded from map displays. An option
to filter them from result sets would be desirable.
Original issue reported on code.google.com by ah...@gbif.org on 3 Nov 2010 at 11:45
Original issue reported on code.google.com by
ah...@gbif.orgon 3 Nov 2010 at 11:45