FIELD E ; Taxonomy Code 

 Columns 18, 19, 20, 21, 

 22, 23, 24, and 25 



This particular scheme also provides unique symbols for all the organisms for which symbols 

 are apt to be needed in coding results of chemical-biological tests. (See Division 2, above. ) While 

 the CBCC Taxonomy Code does not pretend to be able to accommodate all known organisms (all species 

 and all taxonomic categories) with the limited space of eight IBM punched card columns, the symbols 

 available for each taxonomic category are actually in most cases more than sufficient to include all 

 known members of the category. For example, 3 5 symbols of one IBM punched card column are ordinarily 

 adequate to encompass all recognized phyla, or all classes of any one phylum, or all orders of any one 

 class. 



If a phylum is organized into more than 35 classes or a class into more than 35 orders, the CBCC 

 Code could not conveniently provide symbols for all of them, but since it is not probable that chemical- 

 biological data will be encountered for species from all of such a large number of classes of a single 

 phylum (or of orders of a single class), or even from any but a part of 3 5 classes (or orders), a provision 

 for more than 35 symbols has seemed, and has so far proved, unnecessary. 



It will be noted that the coding scheme of the CBCC does not provide for distinguishing, by 

 code, taxonomic intergroups (subgroups and supergroups), such as subclasses and superclasses. Any 

 intergroup has the same symbol as the major group of which the intergroup is a member. For example, 

 all of the suborders, Trichostomata, Gymnostomata, Astomata, etc. , have the same code symbol 

 (Symbol 121) as the order to which they belong (Holotricha). Therefore, it is not possible to use the 

 symbol for an intergroup to sort out all information on only that single specific intergroup, since the 

 symbol represents all intergroups of the major group (e. g. , all suborders of a given order). The retrieval 

 of information on all members of a suborder, for example, could be made by selecting coded information 

 for all families known to be included in the suborder or by retrieving all information coded by the single 

 symbol for the order and all its suborders, followed by inspection and manual selection for information 

 on the suborder. While this complication appears to be a disadvantage, the actual improbability or 

 infrequency of need for retrieval of information on an intergroup justifies omitting distinguishing code 

 designations of sub- and supergroups. 



4. The sequence of symbols in any one taxonomic category is only the sequence by which the 

 names of taxonomic groups are added to the Code list 



Generally, the taxonomic groups or species are added to the Code only when the need arises. 

 Thus, to date, not only are a very limited number of species to be found included in the list, but, in 

 most phyla, only a limited number of genera, families, orders, and classes. (Initially, an attempt was 

 made to provide a basically complete list of phyla, classes, and in some phyla, orders. ) When data 

 are encounteied involving an organism not yet in the CBCC list, the new symbol assigned to that 

 organism consists of the seven-unit symbol indicating the phylum, class, order, family, and genus to 

 which it belongs and a unique final unit which is simply the next sequential number or letter following 

 that given to the last-added species of that genus. In the same way, if a genus is new to the list, 

 the symbol given it consists of the five-unit symbol indicating the phylum, class, order, and family 

 to which it belongs plus a new generic symbol (the sixth and seventh units of the total symbol) which 

 is merely the next two-unit number or letter combination sequentially following that given to the last- 

 added genus of that family. In a similar way, new families, orders, classes, and phyla are added to 

 the list. Thus, within any single taxonomic category (e. g. , an order), the symbols of its member 

 groups (e. g. , the families of an order) do not occur in a sequence that attempts to represent a natural 

 phylogenetic relationship (i. e. , more primitive families succeeded in the list by increasingly advanced 

 families) nor is there any other organization such as an alphabetization of families within an order. 

 Instead, the sequence of symbols for families within a single order represents merely the sequence in 

 which they were added to the Taxonomy Code; the same is true for the sequence of symbols for the 

 orders of a given class or genera of a given family, etc. The feature that permits any new member to 

 be appended to the end of a list (rather than having to insert a new member into an organized list which 

 would require altering the list to make it conform to the organization scheme) is sometimes referred to 

 by the term "open-end". It will be noted that, in compiling the original lists, the phyla and, in many 

 cases, the classes and orders, were placed in the list and given symbols in an order reflecting a 

 natural taxonomic sequence, though no special significance is attached to it. 



Inasmuch as natural relationships are as yet so little understood in many groups of organisms, 

 natural classifications are in many cases still impossible; in some cases, much disagreement exists 

 among students concerning taxonomy within a given group, for any of several reasons. Thus, no 



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