By Donna M. Recktenwalt
In a previous issue we attempted to demystify those hard to read, impossible to pronounce Latin names that are so important to maintaining precision and clarity. The organization of Latin names is simple enough, with genera first and species names second. But what about those appendages of words and numbers that often follow them? What are they? What do they mean?
Take, for example: Aphyosemion australe Gold, or Nothobranchius palmqvisti TAN 94/7.
In the case of A. australe, Gold designates a particular strain; A. australe comes in Gold and Red-orange color varieties in addition to the original Chocolate form. For N. palmqvisti, “TAN 94/7” is a collection code.
Collection (or location) codes provide basic information regarding the year and the location of the collection, and often include a place name, or coordinates. They are traditionally assigned in the field by the collectors, usually based on some combination of country names, map locations, collection site numbers, and dates. In the above example, TAN stands for Tanzania, the country of collection; 94 for 1994, the year of collection; the 7 indicates that the collection was made at the seventh site visited, with the number usually referenced to a map.
But not all codes follow the same pattern.
“What [we] … usually do is to use a code that one can work with,” says Geert van Huijgevoort. “For example: CSK95-#. (C)ameroon, (S)EC-(K)FN-1995.” But any code is of value only if the person(s) who collected the fish publish the information about where the fish were captured.
Although the presence of location codes as part of species names is important, it does not guarantee that those who purchase the fish, then breed and distribute them, will append the proper code information to fish they distribute. In all good conscience, errors are made: labels get damaged, handwriting can’t be read; the details haven’t been adequately recorded, the original bags have been destroyed. This leads to confusion as others perpetuate the original error.You may have beautiful fish, but without a location code they must be designated as “aquarium strain.”
Other complicating factors abound. Location names may change over time. An example is A. poliaki Monea. “Monea” no longer exists in the area around Mount Cameroon. Closest in name is a village called Muea, along the road from Douala to Kumba, right in the middle of A. poliaki’s range. However, since the name “Monea” can’t be proven as wrong, the fish is maintained under this location name.
In some cases, you will find a location code that states “x kilometers from (name).” Although somewhat awkward, this system, which is widely used in Europe, has the advantage of specifically identifying the location of the pool or stream where a species was found. More recently, collectors have had the advantage of being able to use a Global Positioning System (GPS), which can easily provide the exact coordinates for any location site, plus or minus 75 ft.
Or the same fish may be collected from the same site by different people at different times. In such cases, the codes will be different, but the fish may, or may not, be. The general rule here is to not interbreed named strains, since they may turn out to be entirely different strains, populations, or even species.
— G.C.K.A. Newsletter, March 1998.