Use of Greek in the prokaryotic nomenclature: proposal to change Principle 3, Recommendation 6, Rule 7, Rule 65 and Appendix 9 of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes.

Abstract

Principle 3 of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP) states that the scientific names of all taxa are Latin or latinized words treated as Latin regardless of their origin. They are usually taken from Latin or Greek. Recently we encountered cases where newly proposed names were based on words from Modern Greek that are not derived from words found in the dictionaries of Classical Greek. In our opinion, there is no special reason why Modern Greek words not found in the classical language should have a special status in the ICNP. We therefore propose modifying Principle 3, Recommendation 6, Rule 7, Rule 65 and Appendix 9 of the ICNP to specify the special status of Classical Greek besides Latin.