International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature

Abstract

THE International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature announces its intention of publishing at an early date a revised and up-to-date edition (1) of the "International Code of Zoological Nomenclature" and (2) of the "Official List of Generic Names in Zoology". The last edition of the English text of "The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature" was published some years before the War and is now out of date for various reasons, including the adoption by the International Congress of Zoology of changes in some of the Articles in the International Code. The revised edition will consist of the substantive French text (on left-hand pages) and the English translation (on right-hand pages). The volume, which will be fully indexed, will also contain a detailed analysis of all the "Opinions" so far rendered by the International Commission in regard to the interpretation of the provisions of the Code. "The Official List of Generic Names in Zoology" was established by the International Congress of Zoology at its meeting at Monaco in 1913 for the purpose of recording full particulars relating to the names of the 5,000–10,000 best known and most important genera in the animal kingdom with their type species. So far, however, only about seven hundred names have been placed on the "Official List", due largely to the fact that the decisions taken by the International Commission have never hitherto been brought together in a single volume and with a full index. It is hoped that the "Official List" will now develop into a powerful instrument for stabilizing zoological nomenclature. It is hoped that its publication in book form will stimulate specialists to make proposals for the addition of other generic names important not only in systematic zoology but also in the applied sciences and in the teaching of zoology at the universities.