How many species bearing one or more heterotypic subspecies lack the nominate subspecies in iNat taxonomy? Wouldn’t it be reasonable to suggest curators to create the nominate subspecies when dealing with such cases? Sorry in the case this issue has been already raised.

Sure, it is reasonable. They are hard to find, though. Perhaps there is a way.

There was a thread about nominate subspecies, looked like people didn’t really liked their existence.

Could you please write the url of that thread? :wink: I think that you agree that what people like is not always what is the best. Also for an issue of coherence, unless we decide to ban all the nominate subspecies (but in the case, which would be the supporting scientific evidence?), we should en…

This topic discusses the opposite problem – species that have only the nominate and no other subspecies.

If it’s a polytypic species and iNat recognizes the subspecies in that species, how can the nominotypical form be excluded as its own entry? That makes no sense.

Anyway it happens… Few examples from the Italian flora: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/208780-Trifolium-ochroleucon https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/82598-Acer-monspessulanum https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/158043-Aethusa-cynapium Some others have a heterotypic variety but not the nominate o…

Makes sense. I can see it being accidentally excluded, rather than intentionally. Personally I’m not a big fan of subspecies for the animal taxa I’m most familiar with. (Can’t comment on plants.) Too many subspecies are either poorly defined (and should disappear after being re-evaluated) or are …

I’ve heard some argument that the nominate subspecies is confusing to those who aren’t familiar with taxonomy. At least with mollusks, IDing as the nominate would be considered redundant in the older days when all other subspecies were thought of as variants from the nominate. We seem to be moving a…

I think sometimes it is a matter of being part of a bigger problem. For instance, two of the examples you gave above, Acer monspessulanum and Aethusa cynapium, include infraspecific taxa that are not recognized by POWO. If I was trying to “fix” them, then the question would become “Should I actually…

One of the other issues with these was that people gave the nominate species the same common name as the species level ID and then a bunch of things were accidentally being identified to subspecies. So, I feel like the subspecies all need different common names than the species level identification …

How many species lack the nominate subspecies?

Curators

Topic		Replies	Views
Recognize the nominate subtaxon if you recognize any other subtaxon, always Curators	35	1064	November 24, 2024
Single nominate subspecies Curators	8	1261	October 2, 2020
Autonym - type subspecies Curators	13	1514	December 28, 2021
Duplicating common name for nominate subspecies Curators	15	2240	April 16, 2020
Subspecies Having The Same Common Name as the Species General	37	758	September 21, 2025

How many species lack the nominate subspecies?

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