The PhyloCode is a set of principles, rules, and recommendations governing phylogenetic nomenclature, a system for naming taxa by explicit reference to phylogeny. In contrast, the current botanical, zoological, and bacteriological codes define taxa by reference to taxonomic ranks (e.g., family, genus) and types. This code will govern the names of clades; species names will still be governed by traditional codes. The PhyloCode is designed so that it can be used concurrently with the rank-based codes. It is not meant to replace existing names but to provide an alternative system for governing the application of both existing and newly proposed names.
Key Features
- Provides clear regulations for naming clades
- Based on expressly phylogenetic principles
- Complements existing codes of nomenclature
- Eliminates the reliance on taxonomic ranks in favor of phylogenetic relationships
Related Titles:
Rieppel, O. Phylogenetic Systematics: Haeckel to Hennig (ISBN 978-1-4987-5488-0)
de Queiroz, K., Cantino, P. D. and Gauthier, J. A. Phylonyms: A Companion to the PhyloCode (ISBN 978-1-138-33293-5).
About the Author:
Kevin de Queiroz is a vertebrate, evolutionary, and systematic biologist. He has worked in the phylogenetics and evolutionary biology of squamate reptiles, the development of a unified species concept and of a phylogenetic approach to biological nomenclature, and the philosophy of systematic biology. He received a B.S. in Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles (1978), a M.S. in Zoology from San Diego State University (1985), and a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of California, Berkeley (1989). He was a Tilton Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Academy of Sciences and is currently a Research Zoologist and a curator of the collection of Amphibians and Reptiles at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. He is a former president of the Society of Systematic Biologists and was the first president of the International Society for Phylogenetic Nomenclature.
Philip D. Cantino received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and is currently Professor Emeritus in Environmental and Plant Biology at ohio University. His primary interests are angiosperm systematics (with emphasis on the phylogeny and taxonomy of Labiatae) and phylogenetic nomenclature, an alternative to traditional biological nomenclature that is designed to name the parts of the tree of life by explicit reference to phylogeny. He is an active member of the Committee on Phylogenetic Nomenclature.
