Combinatio nova

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Combinatio nova or recombination, abbreviation in the botanical nomenclature comb. nov. (Sometimes also n. Comb. ), Latin for “new connection” is a term used in the nomenclature of the life sciences . It is used when a new name is introduced based on an existing name. The term must be distinguished from species nova (abbreviation sp. Nov. ), Which describes a newly named species.

In both botanical and zoological nomenclature, the scientific name of a species is a two-part binomial . The name is formed from the name of a genus as the first component. A component is attached to this as the second part, which identifies the species of the respective genus. In botany this is referred to as a specific epithet , in zoology as a species name (in the code as “species group name”). The overall name is the combination of generic name and epithet or species name. ( ICBN Article 6.7, ICZN Article 11.9.3).

A combination, in the sense of nomenclature, is also any name below the rank of a genus that includes a different rank than that of the species. This is always identified (except for subspecies in zoology) by a ranking designation. Rank-indicating names are about subsp. for subspecies, subg. for subgenus (subgenus), sect. for section , var. for variety , etc. The ranking designation is not itself part of the name. Correspondingly, Poa subg. Stenopoa a combination (here in the rank of a subgenus) within the genus of bluegrass (genus Poa ).

A recombination or Combinatio nova is a new name for a taxon that is published on the basis of an old, previously existing name. It is therefore not based on the first description of a new species (or another taxon below the generic rank), but a new name is given on the basis of an existing name associated with an initial description (in botany, basionym , in bacteriology called basonym) .

The most common case is when one species is transferred to another genus. For example, in 1758 Linnaeus described the lion as a kind of Felis leo . Lorenz Oken established a new genus Panthera in 1816 and transferred the species lion into it. As a recombination, this results in the new name Panthera leo for this one. The author who first described the species, here Linnaeus, is still considered the author of the species name. Recombination can also result when a taxon is transferred to a new rank. For example, Philipp Maximilian Opiz described a new plant species Achillea sudetica . Other botanists believed that it was a subspecies of the common yarrow Achillea millefolium . This results in the recombination Achillea millefolium L. subsp. sudetica (Opiz) White (In botanical, but not in zoological nomenclature, the author of the recombination is indicated when the name is mentioned in a taxonomic context. The author of the original name is put in brackets). However, not every change of rank means a recombination, since the rank indication, as mentioned, is not itself part of the name. So instead of the subgenus Poa subg. Stenopoa a section Poa sect. Stenopoa set up, it is not a recombination, because the name itself remains unchanged.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Nicholas Turland: The Code Decoded: A user's guide to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. 2nd Edition. Pensoft Publishers, Sofia 2019, ISBN 978-954-642-963-6 , pp. 21 .