Binomial nomenclature

:For other topics using the name "binomial", see binomial (disambiguation).

Authorship in scientific names

Sometimes you will see a name or abbreviation of a name after a scientific name and even a year as well. A complete reference to a species includes not only the binomial name, but also the author(s) that described the species and gave it a name. While the scientific name is italicized, the author citation is not. This addition of authorship is usually only done once in a particular article or citation. Conventions in author citation differ somewhat between botany (plants) and zoology (animals), and are governed by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and International Code of Zoological Nomenclature respectively.

Related Topics:
Botany - Plants - Zoology - Animal - International Code of Botanical Nomenclature - International Code of Zoological Nomenclature

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Botanical author citation

The name or names of plant authors are abbreviated to a standardised index of author names published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; the date of publication is not cited in brief citations. The standard abbreviations can be found at the International Plant Names Index, Author Query page.

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For example, in Pinus sylvestris L., the abbreviation "L." refers to Carolus Linnaeus; in Pinus koraiensis Siebold & Zucc., Siebold refers to Philipp Franz von Siebold and Zucc. refers to the co-author Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini.

Related Topics:
Pinus sylvestris - Carolus Linnaeus - Pinus koraiensis - Philipp Franz von Siebold - Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini

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If at some point, a species is moved into a different genus, the original author is placed in parentheses and the author responsible for publishing the "move" is then appended. For example, the Coast Redwood was first described by David Don, as Taxodium sempervirens D. Don. Subsequently, Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher pointed out that it was dissimilar to the other species of Taxodium, and transferred it to a new genus, publishing the combination Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl.

Related Topics:
Coast Redwood - David Don - Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher - Taxodium

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In articles concerning the detailed listing or taxonomy of a plant, the date and place of publication associated with the authorship is added as well, but this practice is rare in encyclopedic or other non-taxonomic works. In the above example the full citation is Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl., Syn. Conif. 198 (1847), referring to page 198 of Endlicher's Synopsis Coniferarum, published in 1847.

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Zoological author citation

The name or names of animal authors have their surname given in full, not abbreviated, while first names are not included, or if two authors share the same surname, are given as initials. The date of first publication is also cited, with a comma between the author and date.

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For example, the Bowhead Whale was described and named by Carolus Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae of 1758, so it is cited as Balaena mysticetus Linnaeus, 1758.

Related Topics:
Bowhead Whale - Carolus Linnaeus - Systema Naturae

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If a species is later transferred to a different genus, the original author and date are given in brackets to show that a revision has been made, but the revising author and date of revision are not cited. For example, the White-fronted Goose was first described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, as Branta albifrons Scopoli, 1769. It was later shown to be more closely related to the grey geese in the genus Anser than to the black geese in Branta, so it was transferred to that genus and is now cited as Anser albifrons (Scopoli, 1769).

Related Topics:
White-fronted Goose - Giovanni Antonio Scopoli

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Here too in formal taxonomic publications, a fuller citation is given, citing the original name and publication, in this case as Branta albifrons Scopoli, 1769, Annus I Hist.-Nat. 69.

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