CO subform: Determinations

This is where the taxonomy of the specimen is recorded. This lookup field ties directly into the Taxon tree, so everything represented in this tree is an option for this field. If your specimen has no determination, just leave it blank. This field will search on all taxon ranks except species. Just type in a few letters of whatever name you have and press tab- a dropdown list based on what you entered will display in a new window (or a box just below the field, if there are only a few options). Just select the one from the list and Specify automatically includes all ranks above the one you entered (even though it won't display them unless specifically queried for).

When you have a specimen ID'd down to genus and species, type the full Genus name and the first letter of the species. This will usually give you a nice short list.

When you only have a Genus name (or any rank above) you don't have to enter the full genus name, you can just enter the first few letter of the name you have and a (albeit longer) list will display.

Qualifiers modify the taxon entry by adding or removing detail.

Choices for this field are:

These will be listed on the label if any apply, but for the sake of knowing:

?- indicates that the determiner is not sure that the determination is correct

aff- (Species affinis) affinity with, but is not identified with the species name that follows.

cf. (Conferre) is used to compare individuals/taxa with known/described species, or sometimes used when the identification is not confirmed.

n. sp: (New species, nomen novum) the determiner is stating that this is a new named animal. Usually this is given the Type Status (see 4) Type status) as a holotype.

sp: the determiner is saying that the actual specific name cannot, or need not be specified.

sp. with letters or numbers: Used to show where in a series this determination lies- either as multiple paratypes, or as a growth series and so on.

Preferred taxa is a concept that applies to ALL the specimens of a designation, just just a single specimen being reclassified. Usually, the taxon and preferred taxon are the same, and the field auto completes without any extra input. 

Taxonomy is always being re-evaluated and updated, therefore the taxon on the label will sometimes not be the same as the preferred taxon. Some of our label data is over 100 years old- that's a lot of time for generations of researchers to find new data leading to lots of reclassification and synonymizing! In some cases where the taxon has been split, synonymized or repressed, there is an extra step to entering the data.When you hit a taxa like this , a dialogue box will pop up wanting you to choose between change the taxa name to the synonym, or to keep the taxa name. Choose the keep option- that way, the original taxa shows in the Taxon field, but the new name is auto filled into the Preferred taxon field.

The synonym is set in the taxon tree, and if you look up the taxa there you'll see the name is highlighted in blue. If you let the cursor hover on the blue highlighted name, at the top you'll see the original name (or names, in cases were many taxa are collapsed into one) and the towards the bottom, the new name.

The drop down list for Type status has over 40 entries in it. While many of them are of the 'Ex holotype, Ex Paratype, No longer a type' variety, there are many that need explaining.

One thing to understand is what a Type Specimen is. Generally speaking, a 'Type'  is a sort of voucher specimen that serves to anchor or centralize the defining features of that particular taxon.

Here are some specific definitions for the more commonly used selections for the type status drop down menu. (the following is taken from the wikipedia entry for Type (biology)

Holotype

When a single specimen is clearly designated in the original description, this specimen is known as the holotype of that species. The holotype is typically placed in a major museum, or similar well-known public collection, so that it is freely available for later examination by other biologists.

Paratype

When the original description designated a holotype, there may still be additional specimens listed in the type series and those are termed paratypes. These are not name-bearing types.

Allotype

An allotype is a specimen of the opposite sex to the holotype, designated from among paratypes. It was also formerly used for a specimen that shows features not seen in the holotype of a fossil.The term is not regulated by the ICZN.

Neotype

A neotype is a specimen later selected to serve as the single type specimen when an original holotype has been lost or destroyed or where the original author never cited a specimen.

Syntype

A syntype is any one of two or more specimens that is listed in a species description where no holotype was designated; historically, syntypes were often explicitly designated as such, and under the present ICZN this is a requirement, but modern attempts to publish species description based on syntypes are generally frowned upon by practicing taxonomists, and most are gradually being replaced by lectotypes. Those that still exist are still considered name-bearing types.

Lectotype

A lectotype is a specimen later selected to serve as the single type specimen for species originally described from a set of syntypes. In zoology, a lectotype is a kind of name-bearing type. When a species was originally described on the basis of a name-bearing type consisting of multiple specimens, one of those may be designated as the lectotype. Having a single name-bearing type reduces the potential for confusion, especially considering that it is not uncommon for a series of syntypes to contain specimens of more than one species. A notable example is that Carl Linnaeus is the lectotype for the species Homo sapiens.

Paralectotype

A paralectotype is any additional specimen from among a set of syntypes, after a lectotype has been designated from among them. These are not name-bearing types.

Hapantotype

A special case in Protistans where the type consists of two or more specimens of "directly related individuals representing distinct stages in the life cycle"; these are collectively treated as a single entity, and lectotypes cannot be designated from among them.

Current Determination is a concept that applies to a single specimen, not a whole taxonomic rank (like the Preferred taxonomy does). Current Determination is used for those cases where one determiner disagrees with another and reclassified the specimen is question. In these cases, it's important to keep a record of a specimens taxonomic past.

This checkbox is selected by default when you open the taxon subform. To add another determination and make that one the Current Determination, simply unselect the checkbox on the first taxon, hit the green plus next to the Determination title, and add the new determination. Be sure to check the Current box on whichever one is the most agreed upon taxa. The Collection Manager can tell you which is which. You can't save a record if you don't have a current determination selected.

Multiple determinations allow you to view the subform in grid form as well as a form view (the default view). This is explained in greater detail under section 9) grid vs. form view.

This is another required field. The default here is dd/mm/yyyy. You do not have to put in the slashes, simply type the numbers of the date, say 06222016, and as the cursor progresses the slashes are automatically filled in. Maybe you've notices that the 'full date' format has a down arrow. That means its a drop down, and this opens a menu that lets you pick different date formats. This comes in handy for time when you only have a year or month/year as the date on which the specimen was ID'd (determined).

Simply put, this is the name of the person who determined the taxon of the specimen. This is another lookup table, as indicated by the icons. This field uses the last name and searches the Agent table for matches. 'Agent', in this case, is not as fun as it sounds. No CIA or FBI moles work here, as far as I know. In this case, Agent means person, organization, event, or in some cases, a class. See the sidebar note if you need to add a person to the agent table. Don't use the edit option (pencil) on a lookup table record- it seems really straightforward, but there's a lot of room for making some pretty huge mistakes here. Changing one lookup table record can, in fact, cascade and cause changes in hundreds- even thousands of records.

Sometimes you'll come across a label that has more information about the taxa- how the determiner came to the conclusion about the ID, or information about determination relationships, or additional prescriptive info.

When you have more than one determination, the option to flip between grid and form view becomes available. The form view is the default- you can use the controls at the bottom of the sub form (top image) to navigate, or if you double click on the '1 of 3' part, you'll open a dialogue box that lets you jump to a specific record.

Looking at a record with 2 determinations in the grid view lets you see all the pertinent information in one view, without having to flip though records.