Rioarribasuchus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of reptiles}} {{Speciesbox | fossil_range = {{fossil range|Carnian}} | image = | image_caption = | taxon = Rioarribasuchus chamaensis | parent_authority = Lucas, Hunt & Spielmann, [[2006 in paleontology|2006]] | authority = (Zeigler, Heckert & Lucas, [[2003 in paleontology|2003]]) | synonyms = * ''Desmatosuchus chamaensis'' <small>Zeigler, Heckert & Lucas, 2003</small> }}

'''''Rioarribasuchus''''' is a [[genus]] of [[aetosaur]]. [[Fossil]]s have been found from the [[Chinle Formation]] in [[Arizona]] and [[New Mexico]] that date back to the upper Late [[Carnian]] stage of the [[Late Triassic]].

==History== ''"[[Desmatosuchus]]" chamaensis'' was named in 2003 and found from the [[Petrified Forest National Park|Petrified Forest Member]] of the Chinle Formation in New Mexico.<ref>Zeigler, K. A., Heckert, A. B., and Lucas, S. G. (2003). A new species of ''Desmatosuchus'' (Archosauria:Aetosauria) from the Upper Triassic of the Chama Basin, north-central New Mexico. ''In:'' Heckert, A. B. and Lucas, S. G., eds., ''Upper Triassic Stratigraphy and Paleontology. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin No. 21''</ref><ref>Parker, W. G. (2003). Description of a new specimen of ''Desmatosuchus haplocerus'' from the Late Triassic of Northern Arizona. Unpublished MS thesis. Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff. 315 pp.</ref> It was suggested to be more closely related to ''[[Paratypothorax]]'', and so Parker gave it the name '''''Heliocanthus'''''. However, this new generic name was first proposed in an unpublished thesis, and thus did not meet [[International Code of Zoological Nomenclature|ICZN]] regulations for the naming of a new taxon.

Later published papers reasserted the genetic separation of ''"D". chamaensis'' from ''Desmatosuchus'', but the name ''Heliocanthus'' remained a ''[[nomen nudum]]'' until 2007, where it was thoroughly rediscribed in a paper published by the ''[[Journal of Systematic Palaeontology]]''.<ref>Parker, W. G. (2007). Reassessment of the Aetosaur ''"Desmatosuchus" chamaensis'' with a reanalysis of the phylogeny of the Aetosauria (Archosauria:Pseudosuchia). ''Journal of Systematic Palaeontology'' '''5''':41–68.</ref>

However, a paper previously published in late 2006 assigned ''"D". chamaensis'' to the new genus ''Rioarribasuchus''.<ref>Lucas, S. G., Hunt, A. P., and Spielmann, J. A. (2006). ''Rioarribasuchus'', a new name for an aetosaur from the Upper Triassic of north-central New Mexico. ''In:'' Harris et al., eds., ''The Triassic-Jurassic Terrestrial Transition. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 37''.</ref> As a result, ''Heliocanthus'' is a junior objective synonym of ''Rioarribasuchus'' because the genus has seniority over ''Heliocanthus''. However, the name ''Rioarribasuchus'' has been viewed as a violation of the code of ethics laid out in Appendix A of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and the papers that made use of the name have even been described as practicing "intellectual theft".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.miketaylor.org.uk/dino/nm/timeline.html|title = Timeline}}</ref> This controversy was connected to a similar allegation of ethical misconduct and editorial mismanagement related to an aetosaur paper published in 2006 by Spielmann and colleagues, who named ''[[Redondasuchus rineharti]]'' and was accused of plagiarism on Jeffrey Martz's 2002 thesis by Martz and colleagues in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.miketaylor.org.uk/dino/nm/visit/martz.html |title=Aetogate: Martz's response to Spencer Lucas |last=Martz |first=J. |author2=Taylor, M. |author3=Wedel, M. |author4= Naish, D. |date=10 March 2008 |work=Miketaylor.org.uk |access-date=3 July 2010}}</ref>

An article published later in 2007 in the science blog ''Tetrapod Zoology'' brought these events to the attention of a wider range of readers, and the controversy was dubbed "Aetogate".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2007/04/post_2.php |title=Tetrapod Zoology : The armadillodile diaries, a story of science ethics |access-date=2009-05-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017165531/http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2007/04/post_2.php |archive-date=2008-10-17 }}</ref> This sparked continued debate regarding these issues among vertebrate paleontologists, which eventually led to an investigation by the [[Society of Vertebrate Paleontology]] into these issues and a response given in mid 2008 regarding the unethical conduct of the authors who described ''Redondasuchus rineharti'' and ''Rioarribasuchus''. While the SVP report was unable to find evidence of explicit plagiarism and theft for both accusations, it did not "absolve either party from responsibility", and also criticized the editorial and regulatory practices of the NMMNH and its staff, the lack of communication or collaboration experienced during the situation, and the difficulty in proving plagiarism or conflicts of interest in paleontological work.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Executive Committee|date=23 May 2008|title=Statement from the Executive Committee about the allegations of unethical conduct from J. Martz, W. Parker, M. Taylor and M. Wedel against S. Lucas, A. Hunt, A. Heckert, and J. Spielmann|url=http://www.miketaylor.org.uk/dino/nm/ExecutiveCommitteestatement.pdf|website=Society of Vertebrate Paleontology}}</ref> A revised code of ethics was published by the SVP alongside the results of their investigation.<ref>{{Cite web|date=23 May 2008|title=Best practices from the Ethics Education Committee regarding research, publication, and museum work|url=http://www.miketaylor.org.uk/dino/nm/ExecutiveCommitteestatement.pdf|website=Society of Vertebrate Paleontology}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Portal|Paleontology}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20081017165531/http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2007/04/post_2.php Tetrapod Zoology article explaining the taxonomic issues regarding ''Rioarribasuchus''] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20100714230435/https://www.vertpaleo.org/society/documents/ExecutiveCommitteestatement.pdf PDF response given by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology regarding the issues surrounding the naming and use of ''Rioarribasuchus''] *[http://www.miketaylor.org.uk/dino/nm/timeline.html A timeline of publications and letters by Aetogate]

[[Category:Aetosaurs of North America]] [[Category:Chinle fauna]] [[Category:Prehistoric pseudosuchian genera]] [[Category:Fossil taxa described in 2006]] [[Category:Taxa named by Spencer G. Lucas]]