Navigating zoological nomenclature: a roadmap of rules, conventions, and dangers

Abstract The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature provides a number of rules for the creation of new names and the change of old names. However, such rules are understandable only in the light of a good knowledge of the lexicon and grammar of the Latin language, an expertise that is rapidly disappearing among the scientific community. This contribution aims to summarize those grammatical elements within the Latin language that are involved in the creation of scientific names and to provide a practical guide to the creation of descriptive names, in addition to eponymous names, detoponyms, and names inspired by pop culture. Finally, the cases in which the creation of a new name or the modification of an existing one is needed are discussed.