<i>Australopithecus prometheus</i> is a <i>nomen nudum</i>

Berger, Lee R.; Hawks, John

doi:10.1002/ajpa.23743

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…We thank Clarke () for his defense of Australopithecus prometheus . Clarke disagrees with our assessment (Hawks and Berger, ) of what Dart purported. In his view, Dart's statement about the more extensive dietary and sutural system attributed to MLD 1 are sufficient to make the species name Au.…”

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confidence: 67%

Reply to Clarke, “Australopithecus prometheus was validly named on MLD 1”

Hawks

Berger

2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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We thank Clarke (2019) for his defense of Australopithecus prometheus. Clarke disagrees with our assessment (Hawks and Berger, 2019) of what Dart purported. In his view, Dart's statement about the more extensive dietary and sutural system attributed to MLD 1 are sufficient to make the species name Au. prometheus available under the ICZN. Clarke further argues that we are incorrect to read Dart's description as conditional. In his view, Au. prometheus is not a nomen nudum.Our commentary did refer to the possibility that others might find that Dart's definition of Au. prometheus was not deficient in the ways we have suggested. In this event, Au. prometheus is a nomen dubium. We regard this to be an uncontroversial statement. After Robinson (1954) nearly every specialist has regarded Plesianthropus transvaalensis as a junior synonym of Au. africanus. MLD 1 is insufficient to support the diagnosis of Au. prometheus as distinct from either.In his letter, Clarke refers to two features that in his opinion substantiate a difference between MLD 1 and Au. africanus, for which he takes Sts 5 as an example. These are: "the large brain size of MLD 1 and the vertical sides of its vault with parietal bossing." Here we examine both features in turn.Dart viewed MLD 1 to be of the same endocranial volume he would expect for an adult version of the Taung specimen of Au.africanus. In his assessment (Dart, 1948:273), "the endocranial cast of this adult occiput confirms and corroborates the evidence of cerebral expansion and intellectual superiority furnished over 20 years ago by the Taungs endocranial cast." Holloway (1972)

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confidence: 67%

Reply to Clarke, “Australopithecus prometheus was validly named on MLD 1”

Hawks

Berger

2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…Berger and Hawks () made a forthright pronouncement that Australopithecus prometheus is a nomen nudum . It must be recorded that this does not refer to any decision emanating from the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (), but is merely the opinion of Berger and Hawks, and as such, should have been posed as a question and not as a statement of fact.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The verb “purport” means to claim, profess, give the appearance of, or intend, and that is how Dart presented it. Article 13 does not stipulate that the characters must indisputably differentiate the taxon, but Berger and Hawks (, p. 383) misrepresented Article 13 of the code by stating that in their opinion “the original diagnosis of Au. prometheus was conditional and did not at the time purport to designate a species on valid criteria, most importantly anatomical characters.” This is incorrect on all three counts.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Berger and Hawks (, p. 383) incorrectly refer to MLD 1 as a “partial occipital bone.” In fact, it was described by Dart () as a calvarial fragment comprising the major portion of the occipital bone, including most of the right margin of the foramen magnum and the posterior third of each of the parietal bones. This is a substantial portion of a brain case with much anatomical information, but Berger and Hawks downplay its significance by saying “the MLD 1 specimen preserves only a fragment of anatomy that cannot be used to distinguish it from Au.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Berger and Hawks (, p. 384) stated, “This brings us to the key idea upon which Dart rests his definition of Au. prometheus : the supposed evidence of behaviour.” That is not correct.…”

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confidence: 99%

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