Prokaryotic Nomenclature†
Theory and Practice of Classification
Practice
Aharon Oren,
Aharon Oren
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
Search for more papers by this authorAharon Oren,
Aharon Oren
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
Search for more papers by this author†
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., in association with Bergey's Manual Trust.
‡
Update based on the original article by Sneath, P. H. A in Bergey's Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., in association with Bergey's Manual Trust. ©2015, Bergey's Manual Trust.
Abstract
Nomenclature has been called the handmaid of classification. The nomenclature of the different kinds of living creatures falls into two parts: (i) informal or vernacular names, and very specialized and restricted names and (ii) scientific names of taxonomic groups (taxon, plural taxa). Since scientific names are in latinized form, they obey the grammar of classical, medieval, or modern Latin (Neo-Latin). The taxonomic hierarchy is a conventional arrangement. The form of latinized names differs with the category. The species name consists of two parts. The first is the generic name. This is spelled with an initial capital letter and is a latinized substantive. The second is the specific epithet and is spelled with a lower case initial letter. The nomenclature of prokaryotic taxa up to the rank of class is regulated by the rules of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes.
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