XVI International Botanical Congess

Linnaean binominal nomenclature is incompatible with phylogenetic nomenclature because the former is based on the concept of genus, while the latter requires the abandonment of mandatory ranks. Thus, if species are to receive names under phylogenetic nomenclature, a different method must be devised to name them. Various methods that might be used for this purpose are compared. A fundamental dichotomy among them distinguishes those that retain the entire binomial of a preexisting species name from those that retain only the specific epithet. Other relevant issues include the stability, uniqueness, and ease of pronunciation of names, their capacity to convey taxonomic information, and the distinguishability of species names governed by a code of phylogenetic nomenclature from those governed by the current codes and from clade names. No method is ideal, each has advantages and drawbacks. However, all of the methods proposed for use with phylogenetic nomenclature provide species names that are more stable than Linnaean binomials.