Taxonomic authorities

Taxonomic authorities should be included at the first mention of a taxon in the main text (not in the title or abstract), and are required in Reports and Notes. The use of authorities in Letters will be dependent on the goals of the paper and up to the discretion of authors and editors. For examples, see the Submissions page, and for more detailed discussion, see below.

General Principles

• Include the taxonomic authority (author name and, where customary, year) at the first mention of a taxon.
• Taxonomic authorities are not treated as standard literature citations and do not need to appear in the reference list unless separately cited.
• Use commas and ampersands (&) in accordance with taxonomic convention.
• Authorities are not italicized.
• Subsequent mentions of a taxon may omit the authority.

Formatting in Text

• Include the authority at first mention:
  “The Bonito diving beetle, Mystonectes neomexicanus Sharp, 1882, …”
• Subsequent mentions:
  “M. neomexicanus has not been observed since…”

Use of Parentheses in Taxonomic Authorities

Parentheses in taxonomic authorities are taxonomically meaningful and must be used correctly. Parentheses are applied to the author (and associated year), not to the year alone.

Zoology (ICZN)

Parentheses indicate that the species was originally described in a different genus:

• Pieris rapae (Linnaeus, 1758)

Botany (ICN)

Parentheses indicate the original author of the basionym, followed by the author of the new combination:

• Cryptantha insolita (J.F. Macbr.) Payson

Zoological Conventions (ICZN)

Basic Format

• Genus species Author, Year
  Example: Danaus plexippus Linnaeus, 1758

Subspecies

• Genus species subspecies Author, Year
  Example: Callophrys sheridanii sacramento Scott, 2006

Multiple Authors

• Author1 & Author2, Year
• Author1, Author2 & Author3, Year
• Example: Cobitis kellei Erk’akan, Atalay-Ekmekçi & Nalbant, 1998

Botanical Conventions (ICN)

Basic Format

• Genus species Author
  Example: Quercus agrifolia Née

Basionym and New Combinations

• Genus species (OriginalAuthor) CombiningAuthor
  Example: Cryptantha insolita (J.F. Macbr.) Payson

Author Abbreviations

• Use standardized abbreviations (e.g., IPNI conventions):
  L., DC., J.F. Macbr.

Years

• Years are not typically included in botanical authorities.

Infraspecific Taxa

• Genus species var. variety Author
  Example: Atriplex canescens var. gigantea (Wooton) Welsh
• Genus species subsp. subspecies Author
  Example: Pinus contorta subsp. latifolia Engelm.

Mixed Taxonomic Groups

For manuscripts including both plants and animals:

• Apply the appropriate convention to each group.
• Do not attempt to standardize across nomenclatural codes.
• Ensure internal consistency within each taxonomic tradition.