zoological nomenclature 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 Int ...

, an incorrect subsequent spelling is a name whose spelling has been unjustifiably and unintentionally changed from the original. It is distinct from a " mandatory change", a change to the original spelling that is required by the ''

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature 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 Int ...

'', and an "emendation", an intentional change to a name that may or may not be justified. For example, the

rice rat Oryzomyini is a tribe of rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae of the family Cricetidae. It includes about 120 species in about thirty genera,Weksler et al., 2006, table 1 distributed from the eastern United States to the southernmost parts of S ...

Oryzomys peninsulae ''Oryzomys peninsulae'', also known as the Lower California rice rat, is a species of rodent from western List of mammals of Mexico, Mexico. Restricted to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, it is a member of the genus ''Oryzomys'' ...

'' has occasionally been called "''Oryzomys peninsularis''", an incorrect subsequent spelling. If an incorrect subsequent spelling is in "prevailing usage", it is to be conserved. For example, although the name of the pathogen ''

Trypanosoma brucei ''Trypanosoma brucei'' is a species of parasitic kinetoplastid belonging to the genus ''Trypanosoma'' that is present in sub-Saharan Africa. Unlike other protozoan parasites that normally infect blood and tissue cells, it is exclusively extracel ...

'' was originally spelled ''brucii'', the spelling ''brucei'' is in general use and should be maintained.

Footnotes

References

{{Reflist, refs= Carleton, M.D. and Arroyo-Cabrales, J. 2009
Review of the ''Oryzomys couesi'' complex (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) in Western Mexico
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 331. Page 122. International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. 1999
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. 4th ed.
London: The International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. {{ISBN, 0-85301-006-4 Zoological nomenclature