In
zoological
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and dis ...
nomenclature, an available name is a
scientific name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
for a
taxon
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
of animals that has been published conforming to all the mandatory provisions of the
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
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 ...
for the establishment of a zoological name.
For a name to be available, there are a number of general requirements it must fulfill: it must use only the
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the o ...
, be published in a timely fashion by a reputable source, etc. In some rare cases, a name which does not meet these requirements may nevertheless be available, for historical reasons.
All available names must refer to a
type. For species-level names, the type is a specimen (a
holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
or
lectotype
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) 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 centralizes the ...
); for generic-level names, the type is a species name; for family-level names, the type is a genus name. This hierarchical system of typification provides a concrete empirical anchor for all zoological names.
An available name is not necessarily a
valid name, because an available name may be in
synonymy
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
. However, a valid name must always be an available one.
Contrast to botany
Under the
, this term is not used. In botany, the corresponding term is
validly published name
In botanical nomenclature, a validly published name is a name that meets the requirements in the '' International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' for valid publication. Valid publication of a name represents the minimum requir ...
.
The botanical equivalent of zoology's term "valid name" is
correct name
In botany, the correct name according to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) is the one and only botanical name that is to be used for a particular taxon, when that taxon has a particular circumscription, posit ...
.
References
Zoological nomenclature
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