@article {Miller:2012:0077-7749:295,
title = "On the doctrine of ichnotaxonomic conservatism: the differences between ichnotaxa and biotaxa",
journal = "Neues Jahrbuch f??r Geologie und Pal??ontologie - Abhandlungen",
parent_itemid = "infobike://schweiz/njbgeol",
publishercode ="schweiz",
year = "2012",
volume = "265",
number = "3",
publication date ="2012-09-01T00:00:00",
pages = "295-304",
itemtype = "ARTICLE",
issn = "0077-7749",
url = "https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/schweiz/njbgeol/2012/00000265/00000003/art00006",
doi = "doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2012/0264",
keyword = "DELIMITATION, VARIATION, ICHNOTAXONOMIC CONSERVATISM, TRACE FOSSILS, CHARACTER SPACE, ICHNOTAXA VS. BIOTAXA",
author = "Miller, III, William",
abstract = "If the aim of ichnotaxonomy is to develop a practical and biologically realistic system of delimiting and naming trace fossils, it is important to keep five precepts, or guiding principles, clearly in view: (1) ichnotaxonomy (in general representing behavioral records) and biologic
taxonomy (representing evolutionary products such as species and clades) are never equivalent; (2) ichnogenera stand for major structural themes of preserved behavioral patterns or patterns of substrate modification (defined using exclusive, essential characters or primary ichnotaxobases);
(3) ichnospecies stand for (intergrading or discontinuous) variations on these major themes (defined using characters or ichnotaxobases of secondary rank); (4) just enough ichnotaxa should be delimited and named to fill out the possibilities of character space (resulting in a nomenclatural
system that is both realistic and neither over-divided nor impoverished the 'middle path' of naming trace fossils); and (5) descriptions and interpretations of ichnotaxa must be kept absolutely separate (to the point of isolating them in different sections of publications). Most ichnologists
already follow these guidelines; losing sight of them, however, has resulted in blurring of ichnotaxa and evolutionary units, excessive lumping or splitting that obscures actual diversity, and a reputation for a largely arbitrary system of delimitation and naming of trace fossils.",
}