Judith E. Winston
Columbia University Press, New York, 1999
518 pp., $35.00
ISBN 0-231-06824-7 (paperback)

These days, rapid developments in computer hardware and software, as well as in molecular biology and statistical approaches, make keeping up with current systematic methodology a major challenge for students and practicing systematists alike. It is easy in this era to forget those foundations of systematic biology that lie in the practical working aspects of descriptive taxonomic procedure. It seems rare to find a student these days who feels that he or she has received significant training in this, one of the most central disciplines of biology. Indeed, it is not easy to even find many textbooks still in print on the subject, despite the obvious importance of descriptive taxonomy to currently important endeavors such as documenting and conserving the earth’s biodiversity. Thus, it came as a distinct pleasure to receive this new book in the mail, focusing directly on the art and science of describing new biological species.

The book does not disappoint; indeed, it is fair to say that for both of us, current faculty member and graduate student, the book was a delight to read and a reminder of many of the reasons each of us was attracted to taxonomy in the first place. Judith Winston has not only produced a remarkably comprehensive and up-to-date summary of descriptive and nomenclatural procedure in all taxonomic disiplines of biology but imbued this summary with the fun and fascination the practicing taxonomist feels doing the work. From the initial chapter describing why and how this area of science is important, it was clear that the book was a labor of love, and we can recommend this book not only to students and other scientists anticipating doing descriptive taxonomy of their own but to any person interested in how new species are described and named. The book is that readable and a valuable tool to have as a reference.

The book really deals with all aspects of naming, describing, and illustrating new species (and, to a lesser extent, higher taxa). Major strengths of the book include the highly current and comparative treatments of zoological, botanical, and microbiological nomenclature and the extremely helpful examples and references cited under each topic. Students will find the book a major shortcut alternative to scanning the literature for excellent (and illustratively poor) examples to follow (or not!); the work has been done for them here in an enjoyable and instructive format. Winston’s years of taxonomic expertise in invertebrate zoology, and service on the Scientific Publications Committee at the American Museum of Natural History, have provided her with scads of useful and often entertaining vignettes for all aspects of taxonomic procedure, and she often has reached further afield to include excellent botanical and microbiological examples as well. In addition to these illustrative samplings from the real literature, she has provided a wealth of practical tips on naming and illustrating species from her own experiences and those of her colleagues so that readers of this book are not necessarily doomed to repeat the mistakes many of us made in our first (or even, embarrassingly, subsequent!) attempts. Much of the material in the book, including the introductory chapter on the importance of descriptive taxonomy to other areas of science, could well be considered essential reading for students in any area of biology.

Because of the detailed and comprehensive approach of the book, we will provide here a summary of its content and organization rather than a chapter-by chapter review of its contents. The book is provided with a thorough and detailed Table of Contents, is very clearly laid out for easy reference, and is well indexed and endowed with a wealth of cited literature (especially for aspects of taxomomic illustration).

Winston organizes the information in the book into four sections. Part 1 includes the introductory chapters explaining the how and why of descriptive taxonomy. She provides the reader a brief introduction to the current codes along with some fun examples of historical and folk taxonomy schemes.

Part 2 mainly concerns the recognition of species with chapters on discovery, searching the literature, and using museum collections. Particularly interesting are brief sections devoted to speciation processes and species concepts. Although not detailed enough to be considered a complete treatment of the subject, these sections do get the beginning taxonomist thinking about his or her own species of interest and how they might have evolved.

The third part consumes the bulk of the book, with several chapters that follow the typical layout as seen in a published revision: headings and synonymies (with an invaluable table explaining Latin terms and abbreviations used in taxonomic papers), species names (how to latinize), type and voucher material (why it is necessary and where to deposit), diagnosis, description (includes how to write telegraphically and how to illustrate), discussion, ecology, distribution, material examined, and publication (preparing and submitting the manuscript). Although not always in precise order of presentation (one would not, for example, designate a type or provide a diagnosis until he or she has described the species), the sequence is perfect for the beginning taxonomist and anyone interested in species descriptions to understand what they are reading. One of us (A.R.D.) used it as a guide in his own revision in progress by just flipping back and forth between chapters in the order that helped him the most.

Part 4 steps beyond the species level revision and into such areas as constructing keys (this part could easily have gone into part 3), modifications for higher taxon and lower level (subspecies) revisions/descriptions, common problems (name changes, missing types, or lack of information), and the broad issues of systematics theory.

Practicing systematists and students alike should not need another text to supplement this one in the area of descriptive taxonomy, although they may need to refer to the relevant codes of nomenclature for some very specific issues. Both of us felt that the final chapter, on other aspects of systematics (e.g., phylogenetics, phenetics, molecular methods, biogeography) was too brief and simplified to be of much use to students and would need to be replaced by other readings in a systematics course. It probably is fair to say that this section is not why anyone would buy the book in the first place, however. It is a minor criticism of an outstanding book.

In summary, we consider this to be potentially one of the most important new texts to appear in biology in years. It is a real bonus that the book is a joy to read and, as a result, might help get more students hooked on descriptive taxonomy. Practically anyone interested in biology and natural history at any level would profit from reading the book and having a copy for reference. We have multiple copies in our laboratory, and we already are regretting not purchasing the hardback version (the softcover copies, although attractive and well produced, are becoming dog-eared already). This book is destined to become a textbook and reference classic.

James B. Whitfield
Andrew R. Deans
Department of Entomology
University of Illinois
Urbana, IL
American Entomologist
Vol. 47, No.3, Fall 2001