{"title":"鉴定新描述昆虫属的钥匙调查:给作者、审稿人、编辑和出版商的建议。","authors":"Laurence Packer","doi":"10.3897/zookeys.1215.130416","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Large numbers of new taxa are described annually and while there is a great need to make them identifiable, there seems little consistency in how this might be facilitated. 427 papers published in 2021 and 2022 were surveyed, which described 587 new insect genera. Only 136 of these papers included keys, and these allowed the identification of 233 of the new genera (31.9% of papers and 39.7% of the new genera). The proportion of papers that included a key varied significantly among insect orders but not among the handful of journals wherein the bulk of the new genera were described. Overall, for 17 key-related variables assessed in a binary fashion (optimal vs suboptimal), the average key had almost six criteria that were scored as being suboptimal. For example, less than one-fifth facilitated retracing and less than 12% had illustrated keys where the images were conveniently located close to the relevant key couplets. Progress towards confirming a putative identification was possible in all papers, through the inclusion of a diagnosis, habitus images, or both. Based upon this analysis, and expanding on previous suggestions for key construction, 23 recommendations are made on how to make an identification key maximally useful for users and I indicate the relative ease with which each could be adhered to. Identification keys should accompany all new taxon descriptions, guidelines for effective key construction should be added to journals' instructions to authors, editors and reviewers should check keys carefully, and publishers should be attentive to the needs of users through, for example, permitting duplication of images to make keys easier to use. Recommendations are likely relevant to all levels in the taxonomic hierarchy for all organisms, despite the data being derived from generic-level keys for insects.</p>","PeriodicalId":24051,"journal":{"name":"ZooKeys","volume":"1215 ","pages":"65-90"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11489712/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"A survey of keys for the identification of newly described insect genera: recommendations for authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers.\",\"authors\":\"Laurence Packer\",\"doi\":\"10.3897/zookeys.1215.130416\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p><p>Large numbers of new taxa are described annually and while there is a great need to make them identifiable, there seems little consistency in how this might be facilitated. 427 papers published in 2021 and 2022 were surveyed, which described 587 new insect genera. Only 136 of these papers included keys, and these allowed the identification of 233 of the new genera (31.9% of papers and 39.7% of the new genera). The proportion of papers that included a key varied significantly among insect orders but not among the handful of journals wherein the bulk of the new genera were described. Overall, for 17 key-related variables assessed in a binary fashion (optimal vs suboptimal), the average key had almost six criteria that were scored as being suboptimal. For example, less than one-fifth facilitated retracing and less than 12% had illustrated keys where the images were conveniently located close to the relevant key couplets. Progress towards confirming a putative identification was possible in all papers, through the inclusion of a diagnosis, habitus images, or both. Based upon this analysis, and expanding on previous suggestions for key construction, 23 recommendations are made on how to make an identification key maximally useful for users and I indicate the relative ease with which each could be adhered to. Identification keys should accompany all new taxon descriptions, guidelines for effective key construction should be added to journals' instructions to authors, editors and reviewers should check keys carefully, and publishers should be attentive to the needs of users through, for example, permitting duplication of images to make keys easier to use. Recommendations are likely relevant to all levels in the taxonomic hierarchy for all organisms, despite the data being derived from generic-level keys for insects.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":24051,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"ZooKeys\",\"volume\":\"1215 \",\"pages\":\"65-90\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":1.3000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-10-11\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11489712/pdf/\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"ZooKeys\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"99\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1215.130416\",\"RegionNum\":3,\"RegionCategory\":\"生物学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"2024/1/1 0:00:00\",\"PubModel\":\"eCollection\",\"JCR\":\"Q2\",\"JCRName\":\"ZOOLOGY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"ZooKeys","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1215.130416","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ZOOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
A survey of keys for the identification of newly described insect genera: recommendations for authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers.
Large numbers of new taxa are described annually and while there is a great need to make them identifiable, there seems little consistency in how this might be facilitated. 427 papers published in 2021 and 2022 were surveyed, which described 587 new insect genera. Only 136 of these papers included keys, and these allowed the identification of 233 of the new genera (31.9% of papers and 39.7% of the new genera). The proportion of papers that included a key varied significantly among insect orders but not among the handful of journals wherein the bulk of the new genera were described. Overall, for 17 key-related variables assessed in a binary fashion (optimal vs suboptimal), the average key had almost six criteria that were scored as being suboptimal. For example, less than one-fifth facilitated retracing and less than 12% had illustrated keys where the images were conveniently located close to the relevant key couplets. Progress towards confirming a putative identification was possible in all papers, through the inclusion of a diagnosis, habitus images, or both. Based upon this analysis, and expanding on previous suggestions for key construction, 23 recommendations are made on how to make an identification key maximally useful for users and I indicate the relative ease with which each could be adhered to. Identification keys should accompany all new taxon descriptions, guidelines for effective key construction should be added to journals' instructions to authors, editors and reviewers should check keys carefully, and publishers should be attentive to the needs of users through, for example, permitting duplication of images to make keys easier to use. Recommendations are likely relevant to all levels in the taxonomic hierarchy for all organisms, despite the data being derived from generic-level keys for insects.
期刊介绍:
ZooKeys is a peer-reviewed, open-access, online and print, rapidly produced journal launched to support free exchange of ideas and information in systematic zoology, phylogeny and biogeography.
All papers can be freely copied, downloaded, printed and distributed at no charge. Authors and readers are thus encouraged to post the pdf files of published papers on homepages or elsewhere to expedite distribution. There is no charge for color.