For discussion, here is a controversial paper arguing for an international bureaucracy to vet (with power to reject power) all proposed new species before they are formally recognised.

Basically they want the power to censor science they disagree with - on top of the normal peer review process - arguing that scarce conservation funds are being wasted on over-split species. 

Garnett ST, Christidis L. 2017. Taxonomy anarchy hampers conservation. Nature 546: 25–27.

I have been sitting on this paper, waiting for the inevtiable rejoinders to be published. No fewer than seven are now available (don’t panic: all the rejoinders add up to no more than a single page of Nature). Note that Colin Groves is an author on a paper we are discussing for the third time this year.

Meet at 5:30 pm in Fellows Bar area, University House.  Look for the signpost indicating our allocated space.

Coopers and Cladistics is a long-running evolutionary biology discussion group held every second Thursday at University House, ANU. Please contact Mike Crisp if you would like to be included on the C&C email list.