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, bo ...

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 n ...

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 I ...

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 ...

, 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 seve ...

or lectotype); 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. However, a valid name must always be an available one.

Contrast to botany

Under the

International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "trad ...

, 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 require ...

. The botanical equivalent of zoology's term "valid name" is correct name.

References

Zoological nomenclature {{zoology-stub