Table 3. Specimen identification success in New Zealand skinks.
| Method | 1977 Taxonomy |
Current Taxonomy |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2% | 4% | 6% | 8% | 10% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 8% | 10% | |
| SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION | ||||||||||
| Distance to Exemplar | ||||||||||
| Correct exemplar, within threshold | 39% (91) | 47% (111) | 54% (126) | 58% (136) | 59% (137) | 53% (131) | 80% (198) | 92% (229) | 95% (237) | 96% (238) |
| Correctly flagged as new species | 39% (92) | 39% (90) | 35% (82) | 30% (69) | 26% (62) | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Incorrectly flagged as new species | 21% (48) | 12% (28) | 6% (13) | 1% (3) | 1% (2) | 46% (115) | 16% (40) | 4% (9) | 1% (1) | 0% (0) |
| ID as wrong species/Not flagged as new | 1% (2) | 2% (4) | 5% (12) | 11% (25) | 14% (32) | 1% (2) | 4% (10) | 4% (10) | 4% (10) | 4% (10) |
| Best Match | ||||||||||
| Success, within threshold | 86% (219) | 95% (241) | 96% (246) | 98% (249) | 98% (250) | 88% (256) | 96% (279) | 98% (283) | 98% (284) | 99% (285) |
| Success, outside threshold | 12% (31) | 3% (9) | 2% (4) | >1% (1) | 0% (0) | 10% (29) | 2% (6) | 1% (2) | <1% (1) | 0% (0) |
| Ambiguous | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) |
| Misidentification | 1% (2) | 1% (2) | 1% (2) | 1% (2) | 1% (2) | <1% (1) | <1% (1) | <1% (1) | <1% (1) | <1% (1) |
| Best Close Match | ||||||||||
| Success | 86% (219) | 95% (241) | 96% (246) | 98% (249) | 98% (250) | 88% (256) | 96% (279) | 98% (283) | 98% (284) | 99% (285) |
| Ambiguous | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) | 1% (3) |
| Misidentification | <1% (1) | <1% (1) | <1% (1) | <1% (1) | <1% (1) | <1% (1) | <1% (1) | <1% (1) | <1% (1) | <1% (1) |
| No Match | 13% (32) | 4% (10) | 2% (5) | 1% (2) | <1% (1) | 10% (29) | 2% (6) | 1% (2) | <1% (1) | 0% (0) |
| All Species Barcode | ||||||||||
| Success | 26% (67) | 29% (75) | 30% (76) | 30% (76) | 30% (76) | 63% (183) | 68% (197) | 69% (201) | 70% (202) | 70% (202) |
| Ambiguous | 61% (156) | 67% (170) | 68% (174) | 69% (177) | 70% (178) | 27% (77) | 30% (86) | 30% (86) | 30% (86) | 30% (87) |
| Misidentification | 0% (0) | 0% (0) | 0% (0) | 0% (0) | 0% (0) | 0% (0) | 0% (0) | 0% (0) | 0% (0) | 0% (0) |
| No Close Match | 13% (32) | 4% (10) | 2% (5) | 1% (2) | <1% (1) | 10% (29) | 2% (6) | 1% (2) | <1% (1) | 0% (0) |
| SPECIES DISCOVERY | ||||||||||
| Distance to Exemplar | ||||||||||
| Success | 95% | 95% | 82% | 82% | 77% | 35% | 80% | 87% | 87% | 77% |
| Correctly grouped with existing species | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Correctly flagged as a new species | 11 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| Correctly flagged, but part of a known complex | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Failure | 5% | 5% | 18% | 18% | 23% | 65% | 20% | 13% | 13% | 23% |
| Incorrectly flagged as a new species | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Incorrectly lumped with an existing species | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 9 |
Using the distance-based (Distance to Nearest Exemplar) and matching methods (Best Match, Best Close Match, All Species Barcode) for New Zealand skinks based on the 1977 taxonomy and current taxonomy. Identification success was assessed using a range of K2P distance thresholds (2, 4, 6, 8, 10%). The effectiveness of the distance-based approach for species discovery was also investigated for the new taxa found since 1977.