Conventions for common names?

[Jim Croft]

>Are there any guidelines or "rules of thumb" for establishing common names
>for organisms that heretofore are known only by their scientific names?

if you have to invent it, it is not a common name, it is a fabrication...

don't do it... you will just making unnecessary work for a future
generation of taxonomists as they try and account for these things...

If the organism is common or useful enough, or has sufficient impact to
merit a common name, it will already have one...  if it doesn't,
non-taxonomists do not need to talk about it and it does not need one...

There are heaps of existing name problems that need attention without
inventing new ones...

jim

~ Jim Croft ~ jrc at anbg.gov.au ~ 02-62465500 ~ www.anbg.gov.au/jrc/ ~