Tautonym
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A tautonym is a
Tautonymy (i.e., the usage of tautonymous names) is permissible in zoological nomenclature (see
Tautonyms can be formed when animals are given scientific names for the first time, or when they are reclassified and given new scientific names.
For animals, a tautonym implicitly (though not always) indicates that the species is the type species of its genus.[6] This can also be indicated by a species name with the specific epithet typus or typicus,[7] although more commonly the type species is designated another way.
Regarding other living organisms, tautonyms were prohibited in bacteriological nomenclature from 1947 until 1975, but they are now permitted for all bacteria and prokaryotes.[8] Tautonyms are prohibited by the codes of nomenclature for botany and for cultivated plants, but they are not prohibited by the code of nomenclature for viruses.[9]
Botanical nomenclature
In the current rules for botanical nomenclature (which apply retroactively), tautonyms are explicitly prohibited.[10] The reason for prohibiting tautonyms is not explained in current or historical botanical nomenclatural codes, but it appears to have resulted from concerns over a century ago that identical taxon names could result in confusion where those names share identical spelling and identical capitalization.[11]
One example of a former botanical tautonym is 'Larix larix'. The earliest name for the
However, it is allowed for both parts of the name of a species to mean the same (pleonasm), without being identical in spelling. For instance, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi means bearberry twice, in Greek and Latin respectively; Picea omorika uses the Latin and Serbian terms for a spruce.
Instances that repeat the genus name with a slight modification, such as Lycopersicon lycopersicum (Greek and Latinized Greek, a rejected name for the
In April 2023, a proposal was made to permit tautonyms in botanical nomenclature on a non-retroactive basis, noting that tautonyms have been allowed in zoological and bacteriological codes for decades without incident, and that allowing tautonyms would simplify botany's nomenclatural code while eliminating certain naming problems and preserving the epithets originally assigned to species.[13]
See also
References
- ISBN 979-8350910759.
- ^ Stephan 2023, p. 149.
- ^ Austin, George T. (2008). "Hesperiidae of Rondonia, Brazil: A New Genus and Species of Pyrginae". Journal of Lepidopterists' Society. 62 (1): 36–39.
- ^ Stephan 2023, p. 36.
- ^ Stephan 2023, p. 12.
- ^ ICZN. Chapter 15 Art. 68.1
- ^ ICZN. Chapter 15 Art. 68.2
- ^ Stephan 2023, p. 209.
- ^ Stephan 2023, p. 208–210.
- ^ "Article 23.4". International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code). International Association for Plant Taxonomy. 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ^ Stephan 2023, pp. 208–215.
- JSTOR 25065716(subscription required)
- . Retrieved 29 November 2023.
External links
- International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, Chapter 4, Art. 18 and Chapter 6, Art. 23.3.7