Bionomina

Nomenclatural acts in zoological nomenclature

ALAIN DUBOIS — 2022-12-20

The present work proposes a precise formal definition and an expansion of the concept of ‘nomenclatural act’ which is present in the Code but not clearly delimitated from other related concepts, and provides a list of the published statements that correspond to this concept, a terminology for this and related acts, as well as for information affecting zoological nomenclature. These technical terms will be useful for unambiguous designation of the concepts of zoological nomenclature related to this concept, which are denoted in the Code by ‘common language’ terms having often widely different meanings. They will also be of great help for a future computerisation of the Rules of the Code, which will be possible only if distinct concepts are identified and pointed to by distinct terms. An important outcome of the present work is that genuine nomenclatural acts (onomatergies), as well as statements about nomenclatural status (cataphasy), acquire nomenclatural availability (i.e., existence) only if promulgated in paper or electronic publications complying with Article 8 of the Code, but cannot be made available online in electronic databases or other labile documents failing to comply with these Rules as revised in 2012.

**The Linz Zoocode project. Sixth report of activities (2022). Nomenclatural availability. 5. Optical disc publication**

ALAIN DUBOIS — 2022-12-20

This sixth report of activities of the Linz Zoocode Committee is devoted to the result of the enquiry launched by this Committee in 2021 about the status of new nomina and nomenclatural acts published so far on CD-ROMs. After a discussion of some problems of interpretation raised by Articles 8.4.2, 8.1.2 and 9.12 of the Code, we provide information about four periodicals (Pod@rcis, Snudebiller, Euscorpius and Palaeontologia Electronica) and an isolated paper originally published on CD-ROMs. Only two periodicals respected the Code’s requirements for nomenclatural promulgation of works on CD-ROMs before 2013, and therefore made new nomina and nomenclatural acts available through this mode of publication: Snudebiller for all its papers so published from 2000 to 2009 and for a few of its papers so published from 2010 to 2012; and Euscorpius for all its papers published from 2001 to 2012. All the other CD-ROM publications of new nomina and nomenclatural acts that we examined did not respect the Code’s criteria and are therefore nomenclaturally unavailable.

The authorship and date of the familial nomen Dermochelyidae (Chelonii)

THIERRY FRÉTEY — 2022-12-20

The nomen of the family Dermochelyidae, with currently a single extant species, Dermochelys coriacea (Vandellius, 1761), has been attributed to different authors. This situation led us to research the sources and information about the various nomina (families, genera and species) concerned in order to review their status, in compliance of the Code, and to solve the problem. The logonymic lists concerning Dermochelyidae, Dermochelys and Dermochelys coriacea are reviewed, corrected and completed. The family nomen must be written as Dermochelyidae Baur, 1888.

**The nomenclature of Eurasian giant salamanders (Amphibia, Urodela, Andrias)**

ALAIN DUBOIS — 2022-12-20

The history of the taxonomy and nomenclature of the giant Eurasian salamanders of the genus Andrias is provided, with a complete list of available nomina of all extinct and extant species, indicating their current nomenclatural status, their type-specimens and type-localities.

Reflections on Pavlinov (2021): understanding and expanding the study of the history and philosophy of nomenclature, a comprehensive state of the art

ELIE MARIO SALIBA — 2022-12-20

The philosophy of nomenclature (onymology/taxonymy) is an underdeveloped discipline. The book Taxonomic nomenclature of Pavlinov (2021) explores the history of scientific nomenclature and analyzes the theoretical and conceptual elements that underpin this discipline. It is a rich and comprehensive resource for both novice taxonomists, interested in the history and in nomenclature, and the more experienced, seeking to expand their knowledge of the field. In addition to the review, a deepening of the notions of taxonomic freedom and nomenclatural norms and principles, and a consensus on the binominal vs. binomial debate are proposed. The new concepts of methodology freedom and quality freedom are introduced, as well as some reflections on the notions of monosemy and universality.

**Putting the cart before the horse: SeqCode’s attempt to solve systematics issues with changes to nomenclature**

MILEN MARINOV — 2022-12-20

This opinion paper examines the recent proposal for a new nomenclatural code for prokaryotes (SeqCode). It addresses four problematic issues: (1) epistemological—failure of the SeqCode to acknowledge taxa as explanatory hypotheses, (2) conceptual—designating as a name-bearer a coded section of the genome of an organism, (3) operational—changing nomenclatural procedure as a means of resolving systematic challenges, and (4) political (policy)—SeqCode developed independent in opposition to the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (ICSP). Each of these matters should be alarms to the scientific community as the SeqCode proposal embodies many potentially negative consequences that would dramatically hinder systematics (science) and nomenclature (a tool in science) in other groups of organisms, e.g., animals, plants, fungi, if analogous proposals were sought.

A good practice: why we should suggest vernacular names for new plant species

LUCAS C. MARINHO — 2022-12-20

Here we discuss the importance of vernacular names and encourage authors of new plant species to propose “suggested vernacular names” along with the new species description in cases that there are no vernacular names known. It is not our intention to propose new rules, but we provide recommendations to ensure inclusion of local peoples and dissemination of scientific knowledge when suggesting a vernacular name. We believe that the suggestion of vernacular names in the original publication of a new species would help in [1] minimizing proliferation of common names in the same language when knowledge on the species becomes widely publicized; [2] communicating with lay audience inside and outside the country, where linguistic variations could be applied, but starting from a reference, i.e., the taxonomist’s suggestion; [3] disseminating important information about the new species and the work of the taxonomist; [4] raising awareness about the conservation of the species and its habitat, when the image of this species is widely linked to non-academic media; and [5] promoting inclusion in and popularization of science.