The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) acts as adviser and arbiter for the zoological community by generating and disseminating information on the correct use of the scientific names of animals. The ICZN is responsible for producing the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature - a set of rules for the naming of animals and the resolution of nomenclatural problems.
ICZN Commissioner Mark Harvey has received some well-deserved attention from the media because his life-long dedication to the taxonomy and systematics of chelicerates and other invertebrates has resulted in Mark reaching the remarkable milestone of having described and named 1000 species.
Spider expert reaches milestone of naming 1000 species - ABC listen
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/05/legacy-one-of-worlds-greatest-taxonomists-perth
Declaration 47– Addition of Examples to Article 13.1.1 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (4th edition) has been approved and can be viewed here.
Dear Zoologist,
On 17 February 2025, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature held their election to fill eight vacancies within the ICZN Commission left open by Commissioners M. Bertling†(Germany; Ichnotaxa), M.J. Grygier (Taiwan; Crustacea), J. Kojima (Japan; Hymenoptera), M. Kottelat (Switzerland; Pisces), F.-T. Krell (USA; Coleoptera), S.O. Kullander (Sweden; Pisces), R. Pyle (USA; Pisces) and Z.-Q. Zhang (New Zealand; Acari). The call for nominations and information regarding the election can be found at (https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/84944).
For the election, we had 1470 registered voters. Of this, 1035 (70%) voters voted. As each voter was able to vote for up to 8 candidates, there was a total of 4386 votes tallied. Details of the election will appear as a short report published in BZN later this year.
The ICZN is excited welcome on-board the eight newly-elected Commissioners:
Nesrine Akkari (Austria; Myriapoda)
Mario Cupello (Brazil; Coleoptera)
Gimo M. Daniel (South Africa; Coleoptera)
Stephen D. Gaimari (USA; Diptera)
Elie M. Saliba (France; Nomenclatural Theory)
Glenn M. Shea (Australia; Herpetology)
Ellen Strong (USA; Mollusks)
Mark Young (UK; Paleontology)
Please note that votes were completely confidential, even from the Election Committee. We appreciate everyone who took the time to register to vote and for voting. We also want to thank those who provided feedback on the voting procedure. We urge you all to please participate in the next election for ICZN Commissioners to be held in 2027. Please look for announcements regarding the election sometime next year.
Sincerely,
ICZN Secretariat
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Speak to us about how you can be a part of this important work (iczn@nus.edu.sg / +65 6516 8364)
ICZN is supported by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore (Company Registration No. 200604346E).
ICZN is an Associate Participant to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) & a Scientific Member of the International Union of Biological Science (IUBS).
Correspondence to the ICZN should be directed to the Secretary (iczn@nus.edu.sg / +65 6518 8364).
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