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1 August 2014 Progress and prospects in taxonomy: what is our goal and are we ever going to reach it?
Bernhard A. Huber
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Abstract

Based on percentages of undescribed species collected during intensive recent sampling campaigns in South America, tropical Africa, and the Caribbean, the current global total number of pholcid species is estimated to range from about 4,000 to 5,000. With the current rate of descriptions of about 570 pholcid species per decade, this suggests that a global inventory of the family could be completed within a few decades. However, I argue that a complete (or near-complete) inventory is neither realistic nor necessary and that knowing the majority of species of a particular group will answer most questions on that taxon's biology, while being a manageable task. At current rates of description, the majority of pholcid species might be known within 10–20 years.

The American Arachnological Society
Bernhard A. Huber "Progress and prospects in taxonomy: what is our goal and are we ever going to reach it?," The Journal of Arachnology 42(2), 142-147, (1 August 2014). https://doi.org/10.1636/CK13-69.1
Received: 23 September 2013; Published: 1 August 2014
KEYWORDS
description rate
extrapolation
global diversity
Pholcidae
spiders
taxonomic impediment
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