Introduction
GBIF data sources provide occurrence data for specimens in the genus Oenanthe. In addition, two sources refer to Oenanthe as a family while one refers to it as a family and a genus. How many Oenanthe should there be?
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
| Plantae | - | - | - | Oenanthe | |
| Animalia | Chordata | Aves | Passeriformes | Muscicapidae | Oenanthe |
| Plantae | Magnoliophyta | Magnoliopsida | Apiales | Apiaceae | Oenanthe |
| Plantae | - | - | - | Oenanthe | Oenanthe |
| Plantae | Magnoliophyta | Magnoliopsida | Apiales | Umbelliferae | Oenanthe |
| Animalia | Chordata | Aves | Passeriformes | Turdidae | Oenanthe |
| Plantae | Spermatophyta | - | - | Orchidaceae | Oenanthe |
Remediation Approachs
Answer according to IRMNG is 2 - or three if you want to include a nomen nudum (Oenanthe Pallas, 1771, in Aves): (1) Oenanthe Vieillot, 1816 in Aves (Passeriformes, Muscicapidae - previously in Turdidae), and (2) Oenanthe Linnaeus, 1753 in Magnoliophyta (Apiales, Apiaceae - syn. Umbelliferae).
There is no Oenanthe in Orchidaceae, or anything close; I would flag this as a suspect name to be checked with the data supplier.
Because there is only one instance in Plantae, it is probably safe to assume all instances of "family=Oenanthe" in kingdom Plantae to be Oenanthe in Apiaceae...
This example solution requires working directly from the genus names and looking for possible homonyms (only 2 known in this instance), however will fail if not all actual homonyms are yet known. An alternative would be to examine the families for known synonyms / reallocations and do the reconciliation via this process - but knowledge of potential homonyms is still the key. Main question being, how much of this can be automated, how much requires manual inspection?
- Tony Rees