Documenting Your Collections
Info-Muse Network Documentation Guide

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Type Status (Taxonomy)

Definition:

Observations:

1. The type status identifies the specimen used to describe the species.
2. Types that have been named and are awaiting publication should be entered as "ms type"; after publication, the entry can be corrected to the appropriate type status. However, this principle does not apply to botany, in which case a specimen must necessarily be covered in a publication to be recognized.
3. For better search results in your database, avoid a large variety of terms; draw up an authority list and add keywords as necessary. You can use the following authority list:¹
   
   allotype
   cotype
   holotype
   isotype
   lectotype
   ms type
   neotype
   paralectotype
   paratype
   syntype
   type

Entry rules:

1. Enter the type status, in the singular form.
   Example 1

   A Dolerus similis, an insect from British Columbia, mentioned in a publication in which it was designated a paratype

   	Discipline	invertebrate zoology; entomology
   	Genus	Dolerus
   	Species	similis
   	Type status	paratype
   	Originating Country	Canada
   	Originating Province	British Columbia

   Example 2

   Specimens of Salix x pellicolor Lepage (a hybrid specimen from Quebec) were designated paratypes and isotypes in a publication. Record for one of these specimens, designated an isotype.

   	Discipline	botany
   	Genus	Salix
   	Species	x pellicolor
   	Type status	isotype
   	Originating Country	Canada
   	Originating Province	Quebec

2. This field may not contain more than one entry.