The Advent of the Rank-Based Codes
Michel Laurin · 2023
The explosion in our knowledge of extant biodiversity since the 16th century, combined with the lack of regulation, led to a nomenclatural chaos, with many species known under multiple names. The first attempt at solving this problem through regulation led to the “Strickland code” (published in 1842), which introduced the principle of priority (but only below the family-series level) and the use of types. That code never gained widespread acceptance, but its two main innovations (priority and ranks) were retained in all subsequent rank-based codes. Currently, rank-based nomenclature (RN) is regulated through five codes: the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature; the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants; the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants; the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes; and the Code of Virus Classification and Nomenclature. A major difference between these codes is that under the last two, which regulate names of bacteria, archaea and viruses, monophyly is an important criterion to erect taxa, whereas the other codes have no such requirements. The multiplicity of codes creates problems, such as inter-code homonyms (the same name applied to more than one taxon, each regulated by a different code). Because of this, a rank-based code aimed at regulating the names of all taxa was drafted. However, this BioCode was not adopted because each community of systematists is attached to its own nomenclatural traditions.