<p align="left"><strong>The Linz <em>Zoocode</em> project: a set of new proposals regarding the terminology, the Principles and Rules of zoological nomenclature. First report of activities (2014‒2019)</strong></p>

Abstract

In July 2014, the international meeting “Burning questions and problems of zoological nomenclature” was held in Linz (Austria). It acknowledged the presence in the current International Code of Zoological Nomenclature of a number of severe problems, and accordingly decided the creation of a new international body, the Linz Zoocode Committee (LZC), in charge of writing the Linz Zoocode, a set of new proposals regarding the terminology, the Principles and Rules of zoological nomenclature. Here we present the first report of the activities of this Committee, covering the period 2014‒2019. It contains the presentation of our work, and the first documents adopted by the Committee: the Preamble and Principles of the Zoocode, the description of its structure and a first instalment of the Zoocode Glossary. The Zoocode regulates the status of zoological nomina and nomenclatural acts (onomatergies). Its aim is to provide an explicit, precise and objective nomenclatural system for the unambiguous and universal naming of all zoological taxa recognised by taxonomists, so that, in the frame of a given classification, the nomen of each taxon is unique and distinct. It relies on a Nomenclatural Process consisting in four main stages: nomenclatural assignment and availability, taxonomic allocation, nomenclatural validity and correctness, and registration of nomina and onomatergies. Whereas the Code currently in force is based on six stated Principles, the Zoocode recognises 17 distinct ones. We here submit these documents to the consideration of the international community of zootaxonomists, in the perspective of the incorporation of these proposals into the next version of the Code.