The Taxon Filter, a novel mechanism designed to facilitate the relationship between taxonomy and nomenclature, vis-a-vis the utility of the Code's Article 81 (the Commission's plenary power)

摘要

The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 1999; hereafter the Code) has one fundamental aim: 'to promote stability and universality in the scientific names of animals and to ensure that the name of each taxon is unique and distinct. All its provisions and recommendations are subservient to those ends and none restricts the freedom of taxonomic thought or actions.' (Preamble of the 4th edition of the Code; ICZN, 1999). To be clear: in its pursuit of this aim the Code is not an evidence-based scientific system, let alone a taxonomic method. It is, I would suggest, an accounting system akin to those used in finance, defined for this purpose as 'a system of collection, storage, and processing of [taxonomic] data that is used by decision makers' (Atabaki & Khanmohammad, 2013, p. 41). Such a system is by design based on general principles, receiving input from those engaged in taxonomic science. However, even if the science of taxonomy is distinct from the nonscientific realm of nomenclature, the two intersect every time information from the former is passed to the latter. In order to ensure that the system of nomenclature (e.g. Dubois, 2005) is perpetually meaningful to the scientific endeavour, logic dictates that its input from taxonomy must be evidence-based, and follow established scientific methodology (e.g. Popper, 1972; Simon et al., 2012) or 'best practice' (e.g. Dubois, 2005; Kaiser et al., 2013). Unfortunately, at its important intersection with science, the Code does not regulate the specifics for how taxonomic input should be generated, received, admitted, or incorporated into nomenclature.