Auctorum indicates that a name in
botany and
zoology is used in the sense of subsequent authors, and not in the sense as established by the original author. Its
etymology derives from the Latin word for ''of authors'', and is abbreviated auct. or auctt.
Some species names have been used twice for different species so the author of the name needs to be identified. For example "''Leucospermum bolusii'' auct. Gandoger" for the species that was named as such by Gandoger. It is often used in conjunction with nec or non to indicate a misapplied name, e.g. "''Leucospermum bolusii'' auct. non Gandoger" would mean the species not named by Gandoger.
It may be qualified to indicate the number of authors, e.g. auctorum multorum (abbreviated auct. mult.), Latin for ''of many authors'', indicating that many subsequent authors used a name in a different sense to the original author, and also by non to give auctorum non (auct. non), to indicate that a following author is not the author of the species.
Examples
''
Leucospermum bolusii
''Leucospermum bolusii'' is a shrub native to South Africa. It grows to in height, and has nearly hairless leaves with a single Anatomical terms of location#apical, apical tooth. The leaves are oval shaped and range from in length. The flower h ...
'' is a name that was used twice for different species. The first time was by
Michel Gandoger in 1901. Since this name was
validly published, used for a species that did not already have a name and the name had not already been used for another species, it is the
correct name.
The list of
synonyms
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
of ''
Leucospermum cordifolium'' includes ''Leucospermum bolusii'' described by
Edwin Percy Phillips in 1910. This name however was already taken. So, ''Leucospermum bolusii''
E.Phillips, 1910 is a later
homonym of ''Leucospermum bolusii''
Gandoger, 1901.
If the name ''Leucospermum bolusii'' is used in a later publication, the botanical author needs to make clear which one is meant, and which one isn’t. Hence, the species of 1901 would be ''Leucospermum bolusii'' auct. Gandoger, while the synonym of ''Leucospermum cordifolium'', is ''Leucospermum bolusii'' E.Phillips, 1910 auct. non Gandoger.
The ''
Flora Europaea'' gives one of the synonyms of ''
Cistus clusii'' as "''C. libanotis'' auct. mult., non L.",
meaning that many authors misapplied the name ''Cistus libanotis'' to the species ''Cistus clusii'' thereby using this name differently from the original author,
Carl Linnaeus.
See also
*
Author citation (botany)
References
{{reflist
External links
ICZN''auctorum'' in the glossary of the
ICZN
The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the I ...
Invertebrate Ireland Online''auctorum'' in the glossary of Invertebrate Ireland
Botanical nomenclature
Zoological nomenclature