Isotelus harrypristisi

Great trilobite Harry. I actually talked to Dave Rudkin last week at a club meeting. I had set up a display of Ontario fossils, including my Isotelus "mafritzae". Dr. Rudkin explained that, while that name is commonly used for these variations of Isotelus, they has never been formally described. It was intended to be named I.mafritzae, after Dr. Madeleine A. Fritz, but basically they haven't gotten around to it yet, so technically, as he put it, it's still an undescribed species.

Great trilobite Harry. I actually talked to Dave Rudkin last week at a club meeting. I had set up a display of Ontario fossils, including my Isotelus "mafritzae". Dr. Rudkin explained that, while that name is commonly used for these variations of Isotelus, they has never been formally described. It was intended to be named I.mafritzae, after Dr. Madeleine A. Fritz, but basically they haven't gotten around to it yet, so technically, as he put it, it's still an undescribed species.

That's interesting, Kevin. Did Rudkin explain how the trivial name "fritzae" got into circulation? Did he (or someone else) describe it in some not peer-reviewed article twenty or twenty-five years ago? (That's how long I've had this bug with its original label.) The name "I. fritzae" popped up on an Internet search when I double-checked my info before posting (I didn't read every hit). I didn't know about "mafritzae". Thanks for the background info!

It occurs to me that crediting Rudkin with authorship is overly-generous. If the species has not been described formally, it's open season! You could describe the species and name it anything you want . . . You'd probably want to name it after me, and I'm too modest to demur.