Dear all,
while I am about to name a species that is dedicated to a couple of persons (husband and wife), whose italian name ends in "-ezza", I am not sure whether the correct name should be, in the genitive case, "-ezzarum" or "-ezzorum". In the ICZN, I was not able to find a corresponding rule for this case.
In advance many thanks for your expert answers.
what about "-ezzaorum"?
"31.1.2. A species-group name, if a noun in the genitive case (see Article 11.9.1.3) formed directly from a modern personal name, is to be formed by adding to the stem of that name -i if the personal name is that of a man, -orum if of men or of man (men) and woman (women) together, -ae if of a woman, and -arum if of women; the stem of such a name is determined by the action of the original author when forming the genitive." (ICZN)
Best regards!
How about this comment?
Eponyms have no place in 21st-century biological nomenclature
"We argue that naming species in honour of a specific person is unjustifiable and out of step with equality and representation. Reforming taxonomy to remove eponyms will not be easy but could bring multiple benefits for both conservation and society..."
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02022-y.epdf?sharing_token=t6nfXj5o9N_B_Zz0pDkp7tRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0MT19NAInaEehcp_19knAMhi0UZZWA6Z-JF-wuQHbpWqN8loqbT_WHNSl99uqDCLOI_3kkL3q8v_2_suFlAuwsdugGQEv5rJEfKw3kznhgSto6rcIW_UbnhFjuY4bVJhqM%3D
Dear Ljubomir,
the suggestions of abandoning eponyms in biological nomenclature is indeed seducing, at first sight, but of course difficult to implement. Most taxonomists do not associate the qualities and idiosyncracies of a personal name with a species they know better than the person it is named after - it is just a mnemotechnical device (like Scaptia beyonceae, you see why!). Replacing the names of species, genera, families and orders a taxonomist is acquainted with by non-eponymic names would encounter first the task of finding convenient replacement names. Keeping the old eponymic names as synonyms would then also be somewhat hypocritical, since the intended goal is precisely the one of eradicating all "suspect" eponyms. Moreover, you would then also have to extend the principle of suppressing eponyms more generally to other domains, and abandon expressions such as Oersted's law, Maxwell's equations etc. etc., or do extensive research into the political opinions and activities of these people to see whether they are compatible with the principles of non-eponymic naming.
Your new name should be -ezzaorum.
You choose your names carefully. I like short, euphonious and pronounceable names.
Many species were named after people during the early days of scientific collecting, which was partially fueled by the broader colonization programs of European powers throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Over the past few years, however, that history has come under increased scrutiny...
An international team of scientists wants to stop using eponyms. But the naming authorities won’t budge...
https://undark.org/2023/05/24/researchers-say-its-time-to-stop-naming-organisms-after-people/
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