Since Otis and I seem to have hijacked amphiman's thread of October 21st Red-eyed tree frog--I thought I'd move any further discussion up here in case anyone else has some views on the subject. Otis asked if using Dendrobates imitator was now considered "politically incorrect." I'm not certain that there is even a consensus among dart people that accepts the new systematic revision by Grant, et. al. So far, I haven't found any of the current popular breeders that have changed their listings yet. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess. In the meantime, as long as we all know an imitator is still an imitator, whether it is Ranitomeya imitator or Dendrobates imitator, or a pumilio is still a pumilio whether we call it D. pumilio or Oophaga pumilio, the confusion can be kept at a minimum. At least they haven't meddled much with the species names we're used to, except to change a few endings for agreement with the new genus designation. (Dendrobates fantasticus is now Ranitomeya fantastica, D. reticulatus, now R. reticulata, etc.)

In the meantime, I don't think any of us is going to get beat up over using the terminology we're used to. After all, the newest book has just been published, and it's relatively expensive, so not everyone is going to invest in it. The casual hobbyist isn't expected to keep up with esoteric scientific articles and proposals.
-----
Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

Dendrobates: auratus blue, auratus Ancon Hill, tinctorius azureus, leucomelas. Phyllobates: vittatus, terribilis, lugubris. Epipedobates: anthonyi tricolor pasaje. Ranitomeya fantastica, imitator, reticulata. Adelphobates castaneoticus, galactonotus. Oophagia pumilio Bastimentos. (updated systematic nomenclature)

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Hide Replies ]