Kleptotype

The term is composed of klepto-, from the Ancient Greek (kléptō) meaning "to steal", and -type referring to type specimens. It translates to "stolen type". == History ==

During the Second World War biological collections, like the herbarium in Berlin have been destroyed. This led to the loss of type specimens. For instance, the type of Taxus celebica was thought to be destroyed during the Second World War, but a kleptotype has survived the war in Stockholm. Kleptotypes have been taken by researchers, who subsequently added their unauthorised type duplicates to their own collections. == Consequences ==

Taking kleptotypes has been criticised as destructive, wasteful, and unethical. The displacement of type material complicates the work of taxonomists, as species identities may become ambiguous due to the lacking type material. Also, in some herbaria, such as the herbarium Kew, specimens are glued to the herbarium sheets to hinder the removal of plant material. However, this also makes it difficult to handle the specimens. ==Rules concerning type specimens==

The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) does not explicitly prohibit the removal of material from type specimens, however it strongly recommends to conserve the type specimens properly. and point of reference. ==References==