Research in Zoology
p-ISSN: 2325-002X e-ISSN: 2325-0038
2019; 9(1): 12-15
doi:10.5923/j.zoology.20190901.03
Stephen J. Maxwell
School of Zoology and Ecology, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia
Correspondence to: Stephen J. Maxwell, School of Zoology and Ecology, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia.
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Copyright © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Scientific & Academic Publishing.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This paper uses the now accepted tool of phototyping in conjunction with extensive published anecdotal evidence to describe a new carnivorous Marsupialia. This new taxon differs from all known Marsupialia in having reduced incisors and greatly developed canines. Bicingulatus ninjabearus new species is purported to be an aggressive mimic, with the primary prey item Phascolarctos (sl.). This paper tests the limits for taxonomic validity using phototypes, where the formal structure for erecting taxa grants validity irrespective of physical evidence, and also where the use of phototypes can be demonstrably supported with axillary evidence. This paper seeks to establish precedents on how nature-bound encounters resulting in the capture of an image of a purported new species that is then widely distributed is treated. It is demonstrated that the use of that image can be as a phototype and primary evidence for a species description in taxonomy. Therefore, this paper seeks to test the limits on the application of phototypes. (urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:453BD8CA-E8C5-48DE-8578-A42D7633E006)
Keywords: Aggressive Mimic, Carnivorous, Drop Bear, Myth, Phototype, Taxonomy, Australia
Cite this paper: Stephen J. Maxwell, A Description of a New Endemic Carnivorous Marsupialia in Myrtoideae Forests of Australia: A Taxonomic Misadventure with Phototypes, Research in Zoology , Vol. 9 No. 1, 2019, pp. 12-15. doi: 10.5923/j.zoology.20190901.03.