Who, and where, is the Homo sapiens type specimen?

[Kai]

This is a bit of interesting silliness from me, biological and systemic.

In biology, when a species is described, the specimen the description is based on is called the type, or more specifically, the holotype. If more than one specimen is necessary to describe it, these are called syntypes, and any supplemental specimens are called paratypes. Later, a better specimen may be found to represent the species, and would be designated a lectotype. In the event that a holotype specimen is damaged, lost or destroyed, a neotype may be named to replace the holotype. The idea is, species are actually represented by real, physical specimens (or cultures, in the case of microorganisms) to which the name is attached. When I say Cheumatopsyche analis, for example, I mean that there is a physical specimen of a male designated in 1903 by Nathan Banks and deposited in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. HH Ross determined that the original descriptions weren't adequate and published a work in 1938 designating new lectotypes, also deposited in the MCZ. Species are very real in that sense of having a physical analogue for the conceptual name. And while some will argue that there are many different types of species concepts, they will all agree that a description refers to an individual, the holotype, and a hypothesis in relation to other individuals, both described and undescribed.

So my silly question is this: who was/is the holotype specimen for the species Homo sapiens, and where is it stored?


The original description for H. sapiens was in the first publication recognized by the international code of zoological nomenclature (well, second really, but thats another story), the tenth edition of Linnaeus's Systema Natura, published in 1758. It turns out that Carl von Linne never declared a type specimen for the species, although the myth is he designated /himself/ as the type. In 1959, WT Stearns formally designated Linnaeus as the type. Unfortunately, there still was no type specimen, as Carl von Linne was buried and not deposited in a museum.

In 1994, the paleontologist Robert Bakker supposedly described the skull of deceased paleontologist Edward Cope, but unfortunatly I can't find a copy to verify. Funny arguments ensue. Is the Sterns lectotype valid without a specimen holding? Or is it the (possible) publication of Edward Cope's skull that makes him the lectotype? Does it even MATTER that there is no type specimen for Homo sapiens, since the species is "so well known"? What is with this whole TYPE thing anyway; isn't it a throwback to the concept of natural kinds and essences, and should be discarded?

It makes me wonder if some biologists should go dig up Linnaeus's grave in the middle of the night and deposit it in a museum to be done with it once and for all. A formal lectotype description will ensue.


Or maybe Bakker had the right idea and a neotype should be described. Either way, as far as the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is concerned, Homo sapiens doesn't exist.

[Template]

I like this.

Perhaps we should "volunteer" someone?  Or have a call for auditions?

[Kai]

I like this.

Perhaps we should "volunteer" someone?  Or have a call for auditions?

Heh. The only problem is, you can't have a living type specimen for vertebrates or animals in general. So the volunteer or audition would have to either deed their remains to a museum, or...well, other options would be unethical.

[Requia ☣]

Don't people deed their bodies to research all the time?  It seems like it would be easy enough to swipe a body from the nearest medical school and use that.

[Golden Applesauce]

I could imagine some serious shit-flinging about which gender/ethnicity/nationality the H Sapiens specimen should be, were someone to try to provide one (and the international media getting ahold of it.)

Solution:
Designate a mirror to be the specimen.

[Elder Iptuous]

perhaps it should be that first fellow who had his body sliced into layers.  Or the fellow that the human genome project was sequenced from...
just two quick thoughts...

[Rumckle]

Stephen Colbert!
I mean, they did send his DNA into space.

[Nast]

Solution:
Designate a mirror to be the specimen.

I love this idea.

The holotype...is you!

[Kai]

Solution:
Designate a mirror to be the specimen.

I love this idea.

The holotype...is you!

Well, thats what many people suggest Linnaeus meant by Homo nosce Te ipsum (latin for "know thyself), that we are all the holotypes.