A nomenclatural system for class-series zoological nomina. 4. Basic requirements for class-series nomenclature

This paper continues our reflection on a project of a comprehensive system of Rules for class-series nomenclature complementary to those of the current Code. We think the new Rules should follow the same basic principles, criteria and requirements as the Code itself. We distinguish four main categories among these basic characteristics: [1] the Rules of the Code are strictly nomenclatural, not taxonomic; [2] following strictly these Rules is compulsory for Code-compliance; [3] these Rules respect a few general conventions and 18 basic Principles; [4] their implementation follows a well-defined Nomenclatural Process composed of several stages, here re-examined and reformulated. The fact that our scientific inventory of biodiversity is dramatically incomplete, while irreversible extinctions are raging and will result in considerable and definitive losses in our knowledge about diversity, imposes on taxonomists the need to make the right choices concerning the hierarchy of their priorities in this domain. We think that any system for higher zoological nomenclature should respect these specifications and allow to keep unchanged the most familiar class-series nomina, applying to well-known taxa, while furnishing strict and automatic Rules for establishing the valid nomina of all other taxa, without having to embark on sterile and endless discussions based on complex theories, opinions and tastes. In the forthcoming papers of this series, we will confront these requirements with several proposals of systems for higher zoological nomenclature published in the recent decades.