Spelling of Diniatys dentifer

Dear Richard,
Thanks for letting us know. I must say that retaining the rquirement to alter species names to match gender, when species are moved from one genus to another, was one of the most unfortunate decisions made by the International Commission during the deliberations which preceded the adoption of the new International Code. There was a strong body of opinion in favour of fixing the spelling of species names so that they did not change. In precomputer days it was no big deal to look through an alphabetical list of names and find the ones you were looking for and any near matches. Now that we rely so heavily on databases and computer searching, changing names to meet the dictates of a dead language seem to me to be particularly ludicrous. While some search facilities can be customised to find 'near misses' this is not always the case. And for non-taxonomists who just want a stable name to use, this sort of pedantry gives nomenclature a very bad name, which I find hard, if not impossible, to justify.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.