Nomen nudum
Encyclopedia : N : NO : NOM : Nomen nudum
In scientific classification, a nomen nudum (Latin for "naked name", plural nomina nuda) is a purported scientific name for an organism that does not meet the proper formal criteria for scientific use. A name may be a nomen nudum for a number of reasons:
- It may not have been published, or published but in a form that does not satisfy the requirements of the appropriate code of nomenclature (for example, published only on the internet).
- It may have been published but without the intent to create a new scientific name, for example it may be accompanied with conditions, or with a disclaimer, or simply lacking an indication that the name is intended to be new.
- It may have been published, but without a description or type specimen, or with a description that is inadequate to distinguish that organism from its relatives.
A scientific name that does not satisfy these and the other requirements is a nomen nudum. A nomen nudum may be freely reused by a later author.
For example, in his Systema Naturae of 1758, Carolus Linnaeus named the species Homo trogolodytes (literally, "cave-dwelling man"). However, he had no specimen to describe and it is unclear to what animal he was referring — it may have been a chimpanzee, or an orangutan. When Johann Friedrich Blumenbach published a description of the common chimpanzee in De Generis Humani Varietate Nativa in 1775 he used Linnaeus's name, but moved the species to the genus Simia as Simia troglodytes. Since Linnaeus's lack of a description makes his use of Homo troglodytes a nomen nudum, today scientists refer to the common chimpanzee as Pan troglodytes (Blumenbach, 1775) and not as "(Linnaeus, 1758)".
See also
- Nomen dubium, a valid name but one of unknown or doubtful application.
References
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