Greetings,

I apologize if this request is a bit elementary, as I am not a student of taxonomy. I am however in the situation where I am interested in the possibility of potentially describing (or re- describing?) a "new" species, and need to find some good references or get some assistance on "rules" for such. My particular situation involves a mammal, where only one species is currently recognized in the genus in question. The species was first described by Linnaeus, 1758, and no holotype or paratype was designated - only a type locality was given, and even then it is fairly broad. Several other designations were given to animals from the same general area that I am interested in, though in the 1800s, again with no types designated. The species I am interested in describing is sympatric with its "sister species". Only one new species has been described in this mammalian Order in the last twenty years, thus there are few taxonomists with expertise with this taxonomic group to turn to for assistance. I would appreciate any suggestions of appropriate references, or offers of help with a number of specific questions.

Thanks very much,

Robin W. Baird, Ph.D. Department of Biology University of Victoria Box 1700, MS 7094 Victoria, B.C. V8W 2Y2, Canada Phone (604) 380-1925 Fax (604) 380-1206 e-mail: rbaird at sol.uvic.ca