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Cryptic Problematic Species and Troublesome Taxonomists: A Tale of the Apennine Bear and the Nile White Rhinoceros

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Problematic Wildlife II

Abstract

Taxonomic revisionary work is essential for our understanding of our planet’s biodiversity. Yet recent findings specifically concerned with large mammal taxonomy has sometimes been received with open scepticism by the community of conservation biologists, population geneticists in particular. The present contribution offers a taxonomist’s perspective of the problem utilizing case studies of two classically designated subspecies (Ceratotherium simum cottoni and Ursus arctos marsicanus) to show how a refined taxonomy is the first step in establishing effective conservation measures and thus contribute to the maintenance of a healthy and diverse planet through appropriate use of mammals as umbrella species.

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Acknowledgements

We wish first to thank Francesco Maria Angelici and Lorenzo Rossi for inviting us to deal with this hot issue in conservation biology. Our sincere thanks to a number of colleagues who, in the last years, shared with us the desire to innovate mammalian taxonomy as a critical tool for conservation strategies: Fenton (Woody) Cotterill, Boris Krystufek, Peter Taylor, Jan Robovský and Mostafa Saleh. SG wishes to thank Giorgio Boscagli, Mauro Ferri, Corradino Guacci and Sandro Lovari for the long discussions about the future of Apennine bears. Kees Rookmaaker and Jan Robovský commented on an early draft, while Jacopo Conti, Francesco Germi and Antonio Macioce provided some of the pictures. SG wishes to warmly thank Phyll Groves for helping in revising the English style and Eva Bärmann and Dietmar Zinner for their thorough suggestions.

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  1. Società Italiana per la Storia della Fauna “Giuseppe Altobello”, Rome, Italy

    Spartaco Gippoliti

  2. School of Archaeology & Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Colin P. Groves

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  1. Spartaco Gippoliti
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  1. FIZV, Rome, Italy

    Francesco Maria Angelici

  2. Museo dell’Ecologia di Cesena, Cesena, Forli/Cesana, Italy

    Lorenzo Rossi

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Gippoliti, S., Groves, C.P. (2020). Cryptic Problematic Species and Troublesome Taxonomists: A Tale of the Apennine Bear and the Nile White Rhinoceros. In: Angelici, F., Rossi, L. (eds) Problematic Wildlife II. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42335-3_16

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