Publishing names in the digital era - BioMed Central blog

"So that scientific research on animals can be communicated confidently, it is important to ensure that the naming of species is stable and universal. For animal species, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) acts as an advisory body for the zoological community by ensuring the correct use of animal species names. As such, they are responsible for maintaining the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature- which states requirements for new species names. In a recent BioMed Central blog post  the new amendment  to ‘the code’ which now legitimizes online-only publication of new species names, providing the publication is registered with ZooBank, the Official Register of Animal Names, was discussed.  This enables much easier publication of species names in open access online only publications, without the need to produce print issues. Researchers can therefore publish in journals such as Frontiers in Zoology and BMC Evolutionary Biology and ensure that their work is widely accessible – thus broadening the reach of their results. However, many researchers in this area do not believe that this change is extensive enough..."