The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its formal author, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (which shares the initialism "ICZN"). The rules principally regulate:
How names are correctly established in the frame of binominal nomenclature How to determine whether a given name is available Which available name must be used in case of name conflicts (valid name) How scientific literature must cite names Zoological nomenclature is independent of other systems of nomenclature, for example botanical nomenclature. This implies that animals can have the same generic names as plants (e.g. there is a genus Abronia in both animals and plants). The rules and recommendations have one fundamental aim: to provide the maximum universality and continuity in the naming of all animals, except where taxonomic judgment dictates otherwise. The code is meant to guide only the nomenclature of animals, while leaving zoologists freedom in classifying new taxa. In other words, while species concepts (and thus the definition of species) are arbitrary to some degree, the rules for names are not. The code applies only to names. A new animal name published without adherence to the code may be deemed simply "unavailable" if it fails to meet certain criteria, or fall entirely out of the province of science (e.g., the "scientific name" for the Loch Ness Monster). The rules in the code determine which available names are valid for any taxon in the family group, genus group, and species group. It has additional (but more limited) provisions on names in higher ranks. The code recognizes no case law. Any dispute is decided first by applying the code directly, and not by reference to precedent. The code is also retroactive or retrospective, which means that previous editions of the code, or previous other rules and conventions have no force anymore today, and the nomenclatural acts published earlier must be evaluated only under the present edition of the code. In cases of disputes a case can be brought to the Commission who has the right to publish a final decision.
Principles In regulating the names of animals it holds by six central principles, which were first set out (as principles) in the third edition of the code (1985):
Principle of binominal nomenclature This is the principle that the scientific name of a species, and not of a taxon at any other rank, is a combination of two names; the use of a trinomen for the name of a subspecies and of uninominal names for taxa above the species group is in accord with this principle. This means that in the system of nomenclature for animals, the name of a species is composed of a combination of a generic name and a specific name; together they make a "binomen". No other rank can have a name composed of two names. Examples:
Species Giraffa camelopardalis Subspecies have a name composed of three names, a "trinomen": generic name, specific name, subspecific name: Subspecies Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi Taxa at a rank above species have a name composed of one name, a "uninominal name". Genus Giraffa, family Giraffidae In botanical nomenclature, the equivalent for "binominal nomenclature" is "binary nomenclature" (or sometimes "binomial nomenclature").
Principle of priority
This is the principle that the correct formal scientific name for an animal taxon, the valid name, correct to use, is the oldest available name that applies to it. It is the most important principle—the fundamental guiding precept that preserves zoological nomenclature stability. It was first formulated in 1842 by a committee appointed by the British Association to consider the rules of zoological nomenclature. Hugh Edwin Strickland wrote the committee's report. Examples:
Nunneley 1837 established Limax maculatus (Gastropoda), Wiktor 2001 classified it as a junior synonym of Limax maximus Linnaeus, 1758 from S and W Europe. Limax maximus was established first, so if Wiktor's 2001 classification is accepted, Limax maximus takes precedence over Limax maculatus and must be used for the species. Carl Linnaeus named the domestic cat Felis catus in 1758; Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber named the wildcat Felis silvestris in 1775. For taxonomists who consider these two kinds of cat a single species the principle of priority means that the species ought to be named F. catus, but in practice almost all biologists have used F. silvestris. In 2003, the Commission issued a ruling (Opinion 2027) that "conserved the usage of 17 specific names based on wild species, which are pre-dated by or contemporary with those based on domestic forms", confirming F. silvestris for the wild cat. Taxonomists who consider the domesticated cat the same species as the wild cat should use F. silvestris; those who consider it a subspecies of the wild cat should use F. silvestris catus; those who consider it a separate species should use F. catus. There are over 2 million junior synonyms recorded in zoology, primarily at the species level.
Principle of coordination
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