Short description:

Biological nomenclature is an essential tool for storing and retrieving biological information. Yet, traditional nomenclature poorly reflects evolutionary theory. The proposed book will reach a broader readership of those using nomenclature but unaware of its theoretical foundations.

Long description:

Biological nomenclature is an essential tool for storing and retrieving biological information. Yet traditional nomenclature poorly reflects evolutionary theory. Current biological nomenclature is one of the few fields promoting deliberately vague usage of technical terms. A new code based on evolutionary studies and phylogenetic results (the PhyloCode) will be a major milestone in biological nomenclature. Unfortunately, The PhyloCode and the companion volume are highly technical publications intended for practicing systematists. This book will reach a broader readership of those using nomenclature but who remain unaware of its theoretical foundations.

Key Features

• Responds to the biodiversity crisis and the recent implementation of the PhyloCode


• Summarizes the spectacular progress of phylogenetics which makes it both increasingly easy and crucially important to define precisely taxon names


• Provides a 300-year historical perspective featuring high-profile characters, such as Linnaeus and Darwin


• Summarizes for a broad readership a widely scattered, highly technical and underappreciated scientific literature


• Documents the activities of the International Society for Phylogenetic Nomenclature, a scholarly society in which the author has played a prominent role

??the great advantage of this book is that it brings into the equation what inevitably applies to taxa: names.?

"Readers presumably interested in the evolution of ideas on evolution and phylogeny will be able to read The Advent of PhyloCode even if they have little interest in nomenclature."

?The organization of the book reflects and extremely structured and meticulous academic approach.?

?Fixing both names and the (phylogenetic) meaning of names: that is the role of PhyloCode.?

?? it will be particularly interesting to read the pages devoted to the question of the stability of names in relation to the evolution of phylogenetic knowledge.?

Pascal Tassy in Comptes Rendus Palevol, 2024, 23 (16).

?The Advent of PhyloCode can interest philosophers, science historians as well as zoologists, botanists and paleontologists.  ? As a whole, Laurin?s book exposes with great clarity all the facets of its subject, based on an impressive set of quotations and citations   ? This is why [the book] potentially addresses a broad and diverse academic readership, far beyond the scientific domain proper." 

Vivian de Buffrenil in Amphibia-Reptilia, 2024.

"I highly recommend this book to anyone deeply interested in the history of biology, nomenclature, and phylogenetics and its relationship to evolution, taxonomy, species concepts, and our changing perceptions of relationships among organisms."   

Sandra J. Carlson in Fossil Studies 2025, 3 (1), 3 
Fossil Studies Book Review of he Advent of PhyloCode: The Continuing Evolution of Biological Nomenclature

""Today, the number of taxonomists using the PhyloCode is increasing, and may eventually become the sole nomenclatural code to describe (paleo)biodiversity. This excellent compendium could not have come at a better time."

Grégoire Metais, 'The slow revolution of biological nomenclature', Journal of Mammal Evolution, March 2025.
The slow revolution of biological nomenclature | Journal of Mammalian Evolution

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: The Roots of Biological Nomenclature ? A Short History of Systematics through the 19th century. Chapter 2: The Advent of the Rank-Based codes. Chapter 3: Rank-Based Nomenclature and Evolution. Chapter 4: Phylogenetic Nomenclature. Chapter 5: Comparisons with the nomenclature of other sciences and beyond. Chapter 6: Controversies. Chapter 7: Conclusion: The Future of Biological Nomenclature.