Nomenclature codes or codes of nomenclature are the various rulebooks that govern biological taxonomic nomenclature, each in their own broad field of organisms. To an end-user who only deals with names of species, with some awareness that species are assignable to families, it may not be noticeable that there is more than one code, but beyond this basic level these are rather different in the way they work.
The successful introduction of two-part names for species by Linnaeus was the start for an ever-expanding system of nomenclature. With all naturalists worldwide adopting this approach to thinking up names there arose several schools of thought about the details. It became ever more apparent that a detailed body of rules was necessary to govern scientific names. From the mid-nineteenth century onwards there were several initiatives to arrive at worldwide-accepted sets of rules. In the course of time these became the present nomenclature codes governing the naming of:
- Animals – International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN)
- Plants (including fungi and cyanobacteria):
- International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), replacing the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN); taking effect as of July 2011, although the text is not yet available in its final form
- International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP)
- Bacteria – International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (ICNB)
- Viruses – International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV); see also virus classification
- Plant associations – International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature
Read more about Nomenclature Codes: Other Codes, Common Names
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