Binomial nomenclature, also called binominal nomenclature or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages. Such a name is called a binomial name, a binomen, binominal name or a scientific name; more informally it is also called a Latin name.
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 publisher, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. The rules principally regulate:
The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word for this group of birds. It also occurs in the scientific name of the cattle egret mistakenly identified in 1757 as being the sacred ibis.
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype. Under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), a holotype is one of several kinds of name-bearing types. In the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) and ICZN, the definitions of types are similar in intent but not identical in terminology or underlying concept.
In biology, a type is a particular specimen of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralize the defining features of that particular taxon. In older usage, a type was a taxon rather than a specimen.
In biological classification, especially zoology, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name.
In biological nomenclature, a syntype is any one of two or more biological types that is listed in a description of a taxon where no holotype was designated. Precise definitions of this and related terms for types have been established as part of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants.
Nomenclature codes or codes of nomenclature are the various rulebooks that govern biological taxonomic nomenclature, each in their own broad field of organisms. To an end-user who only deals with names of species, with some awareness that species are assignable to families, it may not be noticeable that there is more than one code, but beyond this basic level these are rather different in the way they work.
In zoological nomenclature, the valid name of a taxon is the sole correct scientific name. The valid name should be used for that taxon, instead of any other name that may currently be being used, or may previously have been used. A name name is valid when, and only when, it is in harmony with all the relevant rules listed in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). A valid name is the correct zoological name of a taxon.
Cypraeoidea, the cowries and cowry allies, is a superfamily of sea snails, marine gastropods included in the clade Littorinimorpha. This superfamily had been called Cypraeacea and was named by Rafinesque in 1815.
In zoology and botany, a paratype is a specimen of an organism that helps define what the scientific name of a species and other taxon actually represents, but it is not the holotype. Often there is more than one paratype. Paratypes are usually held in museum research collections.
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies. This name is no longer in use: it is now a synonym of the current scientific name, Picea abies. In zoology, moving a species from one genus to another results in a different binomen, but the name is considered an alternative combination, rather than a synonym. The concept of synonymy in zoology is reserved for two names at the same rank that refer to a taxon at that rank - for example, the name Papilio prorsaLinnaeus, 1758 is a junior synonym of Papilio levanaLinnaeus, 1758, being names for different seasonal forms of the species we now refer to as Araschnia levana(Linnaeus, 1758), the map butterfly. However, Araschnia levana is not a synonym of Papilio levana in the taxonomic sense employed by the Zoological code.
The Lycidae are a family in the beetle order Coleoptera, members of which are commonly called net-winged beetles. These beetles are cosmopolitan, being found in Nearctic, Palearctic, Neotropical, Afrotropical, Oriental, and Australian ecoregions.
The southwestern snake-necked turtle or narrow-breasted snake-necked turtle is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. It is endemic to the southwestern part of Western Australia.
A silverfish is a small, primitive, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma. Its common name derives from the animal's silvery light grey colour, combined with the fish-like appearance of its movements. The scientific name indicates that the silverfish's diet consists of carbohydrates such as sugar or starches.
ZooBank is an open access website intended to be the official International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) registry of zoological nomenclature. Any nomenclatural acts need to be registered with ZooBank to be "officially" recognized by the ICZN Code of Nomenclature.
The Myuchelys is a genus of turtles, the Australian saw-shelled turtles, in the family Chelidae and subfamily Chelodininae. They inhabit the headwaters and tributaries of rivers within their range and this led to the name Myuchelys, which is formed from the Aboriginal word myuna meaning clear water and the Greek chelys meaning turtle. They have a short neck and the intergular scute completely separates the gular scutes. They have no alveolar ridge separating them from the snapping turtles of the genus Elseya.
Scaptia beyonceae is a species of horse fly found in the Atherton Tablelands in north-east Queensland, Australia. Discovered in 1981 but not scientifically described until 2011, the fly is named after American recording artist and actress Beyoncé.
The Australian Journal of Herpetology was a scientific journal focused on the field of herpetology. The Australian Herpetologists League established the journal as a peer-reviewed periodical and published its first two issues in 1981. Richard W. Wells, a first-year biology student, served as the journal's editor-in-chief, supporting an editorial board of three Australian researchers.
Porrostoma is a genus of net-winged beetles in the family Lycidae, occurring in Australia and New Zealand.
