Language-Independent Level, Latin and MUL

LANGUAGE-INDEPENDENT LEVEL (LIL)

• Domains: Domains are easily searchable in IATE by typing relevant keywords like ‘crustacean’ or ‘insect’ (but not Latin scientific names) in the search field. See the page on domains for more info.
  • Plants (all green plants): ‘wildlife’ or a subdomain + ‘plant taxonomy’
  • Animals (all multicellular animals): ‘wildlife’ or a subdomain + ‘animal taxonomy’
    • Fish: ‘wildlife’ or a subdomain + ‘animal taxonomy’ + ‘fish’ (NB: fisheries entries with a MUL level (FAO 3-alpha code) should not include the domains ‘animal taxonomy’ or ‘plant taxonomy’ as, strictly speaking, they are not taxonomic entries.)
    • Pests¹: ‘wildlife’ or a subdomain + ‘animal taxonomy’ + ‘pest’
  • Bacteria, fungi (moulds, mushrooms, yeast): ‘wildlife’ or a subdomain + ‘microorganism’ (NB: bacteria and fungi are separate kingdoms, so do not add ‘animal taxonomy’ or ‘plant taxonomy’ to these entries)
  • Algae²: ‘wildlife’ or a subdomain + ‘algae’ (NB: algae are a separate kingdom, so do not add ‘animal taxonomy’ or ‘plant taxonomy’ to these entries)
  • Viruses (virus species)³: ‘life sciences’ + ‘disease vector’ (NB: viruses do not constitute a kingdom)
  • General entries for taxonomic categories (‘species‘, ‘genus’, etc.): both ‘animal taxonomy’ + ‘plant taxonomy’
  • The project you are working on⁴ may also have instructions to add other domains.
• Primarity: All taxonomy entries checked and validated (by a member of one of the taxonomy groups) in LA (and in MUL if relevant) should be set as primaries.
• Anchor language: la (Latin).
• Management field: this is to be left blank, except in cases where a decision is taken jointly by the terminology coordination units of the Council and the Commission to initiate a taxonomy project. In those cases, add ‘[EU] Taxonomy {title of project}’⁵. The additions made to the management field by the central terminology services cannot be edited by taxonomists and are to be left as they are.
• Cross-references: add cross-references when necessary.

Examples: Entries in the form of ‘XXX spp.’ are cross-referenced to the documentary entry for ‘XXX’ and a to the explanatory entry for ‘spp.’. Entries in the form ‘XXX’ are cross-referenced to the entry for ‘XXX spp.’. If possible, link an entry for a species to the broader category immediately above it in the taxonomic hierarchy, i.e. the entry for the genus. Links to narrower categories are also possible, but generally not as useful for EU translation purposes.

• Collections: add the entry to one or more of the following collections, as required:

‘EU-LA-TAXONOMY’, with the description ‘Interinstitutional Taxonomy Group‘ (this collection contains all taxonomic entries updated/created in accordance with these writing rules). ‘EU-LA-TAXONOMY_EXAMPLES’, with the description ‘Taxonomy models and special cases‘ (only specific entries chosen by the ITxG are added to this collection). ‘EU-LA-TAXONOMY_LA_ONLY’, with the description ‘Entry for documentary purposes: only in Latin‘. ‘EU-LA-TAXONOMY_LA_EMPTY’, with the description ‘No Latin on this entry‘. ‘EU-LA-TAXONOMY_SPP’, with the description ‘Entries concerning a group of species within the same genus (spp.)‘. ‘Consilium-LA-TAXA’, which Council taxonomists must always add to the taxonomic entries they work on.

LATIN

LANGUAGE LEVEL (LL)

• Delete any institution-specific information (Council lists/initials).
• Do not add a definition. A true taxonomical definition would be too technical to be useful for the general user.
• Note: when creating or updating a note at this level, do the following:
  • Delete any institution-specific information (Council lists/initials)⁶;
  • Insert the taxonomic rank of the taxon for which the entry is being created, even if it is a species, in Latin, and add a link to the relevant entry (e.g., ‘Taxonomic rank: familia.’⁷). Insert all higher-level taxa relevant to the taxon forming the subject of the entry (showing the place of the taxon in the broader taxonomic hierarchy) only if you consider it useful⁸.
  • Insert relevant information whenever the taxon’s taxonomic rank or name changes⁹.
  • For all entries in the collection ‘EU-LA-TAXONOMY_LA_EMPTY’, add the following note:
    • ‘Please do not add LA to this entry.’ {Add a short explanation here as to why there should be no Latin}.¹⁰
  • For all entries in the collection ‘EU-LA-TAXONOMY_LA_ONLY’¹¹, add the following note (i.e. to entries for the name of a genus which has a corresponding entry with ‘spp.’):
    • ‘Taxonomic rank: genus (with entry-to-entry hyperlink). Entry for documentary purposes relating to the scientific category {insert name of the relevant genus in italics}.
      
      Other languages do not need to be included in this entry, as EU legislation usually refers to the statistical category {insert name of the genus in italics here, along with a IATE hyperlink to the entry for the genus name followed by spp.}’.¹²
  • For ‘spp.’ ¹³ entries with an FAO statistical code:
    • ‘Statistical category established by the FAO for fishery production statistics.
      
      For the scientific category, see {insert genus name in italics with an entry-to-entry hyperlink} (taxonomic rank: genus).’^{14 15}
  • Use italics for taxa from the Zoological nomenclature above the rank of genus, and add the following note:
    • ‘According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the scientific names of taxa belonging to the taxonomic rank of genus or below should be rendered in a font different from that used in the rest of the text. These names are usually written in italics. For the names of taxa belonging to higher ranks, however, the Code states that italics should not be used. Nevertheless, in most EU documents (except where a strict adherence to the Code is required), the accepted practice is to italicise names in these higher ranks as well.‘¹⁶
  • By convention, we do not use uppercase characters for taxa in EU legislation, but in some specific cases, they might be necessary. In such cases, please add the following note:
    • ‘By convention we do not recommend capitalisation of all characters for the highest taxa (i.e. classis, orders or even family) in IATE despite its usage in some EU legislation, the ASFIS list or in other databases or scientific sources.‘ ¹⁷

TERM LEVEL (TL)

• Term: by convention, most Latin names should be written in italics and without capitals, except for the initial letter of the scientific name (e.g. Sebastes marinus).

‘spp.‘ (referring to several species included in a higher rank, usually genus or family) is not italicised (e.g., Sebastes spp.). If necessary, add an explanatory language note about the use of italics and/or upper-case letters (see above).

• Reference: preferably use those those on the list of recommended sources. Cite references in accordance with the citation instructions given in the list or, where a source not on the list of recommended sources is used, in accordance with the citation instructions given by the relevant database or the IATE rules on bibliographic references. Whenever necessary (i.e. if sources do not agree on the validity of a term), make mention of this in the note field at term level (TL).

• Term type:
  • Use the term type ‘lookup form’ for terms which:
    • have been added at TL but have subsequently been found to be junior synonyms (i.e. enough evidence is obtained for the terms to be evaluated as ‘Deprecated’);
      AND
    • cannot be found in EUR-Lex (i.e. are not used in EU legislation);
      OR
    • are used in EU legislation/proposals/documents, but are misspellings of the scientifically accepted term.
  • Add a corresponding note in the language usage field of the term that is displayed first, e.g.:
    ‘The term {insert relevant term in italics}, which is not accepted, has never been used in EU legislation‘.¹⁸

• Reliability:
  • Very reliable‘ ★★★★ for taxa of any rank, with at least three independent sources from the list of recommended sources
  • ‘Reliable‘ ★★★¹⁹ for taxa below ‘species’ (e.g. it is a subspecies or a variety of plant, or a subspecies or morph of an animal) where sources do not agree on the scientific name
  • ‘Minimum reliability‘ ★★ for:
    • taxa ranked as a species or higher where sources do not agree on the scientific name; or
    • taxa of any rank where there is only one source of evidence for the scientific name; or
    • taxa of any rank where there is reliable evidence that the scientific name in question is not accepted.

• Evaluation:
  • Do not insert an evaluation for accepted names.
  • Select ‘Deprecated’ for a term which is clearly not a scientifically accepted name.
    
• Note:
  • In this field, include the ‘scientific name’ + ‘author of the classification, year’ (as indicated in a relevant database/scientific publication) here, e.g.: ‘Amblyraja radiata (Donovan, 1808)’.
  • If relevant (i.e. to provide more clarity to those updating or consulting the entry), summarise the steps you took in your research (especially to further explain why the reliability codes ‘Reliable’ ★★★ or ‘Minimum reliability’ ★★ were used).
  • For ‘spp.’ entries with a FAO statistical code: ‘This term is used in EU legislation in combination with the FAO statistical code (MUL on this entry).’
  • For entries where the taxonomic rank is a family: depending on the case, use one of the following notes:
    • ‘Scientific category‘.²⁰
    • ‘Both a scientific and a statistical category.
      
      In EU legislation, {insert family name in italics}is usually combined with the statistical code from the FAO ASFIS list (MUL on this entry).‘²¹
      
• Language usage:
  • By default, unless otherwise stated, the accepted name is the name used in EU legislation.
  • Whenever relevant (for the deprecated term or for all terms), indicate the frequency of usage of the term in EU legislation and in any other scientific or statistical classification system.
  • Here are some suggestions for standard phrases, to be used/adapted according to the specific situation:
    • For species:
      • ‘In EU legislation, this term, which is the scientifically accepted name, is the most prevalent.‘²²
      • ‘In EU legislation, this term, which is not a scientifically accepted name, is used (very/extremely) rarely.‘²³
      • ‘This term, which is not a scientifically accepted name, is used in the ASFIS list of species (FAO).’
      • ‘It is used very rarely in EU documents, and is never used in EU legislation.‘²⁴
      • ‘This term, which is not a scientifically accepted name, has also been used in recent EU legislation {it is recommended to add the CELEX number of the legislation here along with the relevant link} {add the date on which the relevant EU legislation was consulted}.’²⁵
      • ‘In EU legislation, this term has sometimes been misspelled as {add misspelling}’.²⁶
    • For subspecies:
      • ‘The recommended abbreviation for ‘subspecies’, to be used for plants, bacteria, fungi and algae, is subsp.²⁷, but this abbreviation is not used for animal names.’
    • For ‘spp.’ entries (i.e. concepts denoted by terms in the form ‘XXX spp.’):
      • ‘For the meaning of ‘spp.’ in EU legislation, see ‘spp.’.‘²⁸
    • For entries concerning marine organisms with the taxonomic rank of family and included on the FAO ASFIS list:
      • ‘The combination {insert family name} and the corresponding code {insert FAO code} established by the FAO for fishery production statistics has not been used in EU legislation up until now {insert date on which EU legislation was consulted}.’²⁹

MUL

In the context of fisheries, EU legislation uses the FAO 3-alpha code in combination with the Latin name. Therefore, always check names relating to marine organisms against the FAO List of Species for Fishery Statistics Purposes.³⁰

LANGUAGE LEVEL (LL)

• Delete any institution-specific information (Council lists/initials).
• Do not add a definition.
• Note:
  • For entries where the taxonomic rank is a family (both a scientific and a statistical category): add the following note:
    • ‘NB: In the ASFIS list, this 3-alpha code refers only to those species of the family not mentioned elsewhere on the list (i.e. it does not necessarily cover all species in the family).‘³¹
  • For MUL codes referring to several families: always add an explanatory note.³² On these entries, the domains ‘animal taxonomy’ or ‘plant taxonomy’ should not be used as, strictly speaking, these are not taxonomic entries. However, the entry should be added to the collection ‘EU-LA-TAXONOMY’ (and, where Council taxonomists work on the entry, also to the collection ‘Consilium-LA-TAXA’), as these entries are linked to actual taxonomic entries.

TERM LEVEL (TL)

• Reference: ‘FAO, Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Information System – ASFIS List of Species for Fishery Statistics Purposes, February {insert year}, http://www.fao.org/fishery/collection/asfis/en.‘
• Term type:
  • Abbreviation³³
• Reliability: ‘Very reliable’ ★★★★
• Note: Check how the code is used in EU legislation (i.e. by looking in EUR-Lex)
  • If the code has been used in EU legislation, insert:
    • ‘Statistical code established by the FAO for fishery production statistics and used in EU legislation in combination with the Latin name.‘
  • If the code has not been used in EU legislation, insert:
    • ‘This statistical code, established by the FAO for fishery production statistics, has not been used in EU legislation yet {add the date on which EU legislation was consulted}.’

FOOTNOTES

1. See Anoplophora glabripennis. ↩︎
2. See Phaeophyceae. ↩︎
3. See White spot syndrome virus. ↩︎
4. E.g. for project ‘[EU] Taxonomy – 2011T011P’: ‘life sciences’ and ‘5641 fisheries’. ↩︎
5. Whenever the { } brackets appear in this document, they should be removed (and their content replaced with the relevant information) when the note/comment is added in IATE. ↩︎
6. E.g. ‘JCLat (JAN89)’; ‘AV(MAI06)’. ↩︎
7. See Ammodytidae. ↩︎
8. E.g. Regnum: Animalia
   Phylum: Chordata
   Subphylum: Vertebrata
   Superclassis: Osteichthyes
   Classis: Actinopterygii
   Subclassis: Neopterygii
   Infraclassis: Teleostei
   Superordo: Ostariophysi
   Ordo: Cypriniformes
   Superfamilia: Cyprinoidea
   Familia: Cyprinidae
   Genus: Hypophthalmichthys
   Species: Hypophthalmichthys nobilis
   Link to IATE Taxonomic Ranks in table form. ↩︎
9. See Dipturus batis. ↩︎
10. See Western bluefin tuna or siki. ↩︎
11. Read more about how to create a monolingual entry in Entry creation (*). ↩︎
12. See Ammodytes. NB: Even if other languages are added to the entry in question, the
    entry needs to be kept in the ‘LA only’ collection to enable searches for documentary entries created in connection with an ‘spp.’ entry. ↩︎
13. Please note that in EU legislation, this is written ‘spp.’, but in the FAO ASFIS list there is no full stop (‘spp’). ↩︎
14. The actual note will appear as in Ammodytes spp.: ‘For the scientific category, see Ammodytes (taxonomic rank: genus).‘ ↩︎
15. See Ammodytes. ↩︎
16. The following hemihomonyms, when they relate to the Code of Zoological Nomenclature, must never
    be italicised (since, in their italicised form, they exist in other nomenclatures as different taxa):
    Anisoptera, Articulata, Ascoidea, Coccoidea, Echinacea, Furnariidae, Lestoidea, Lichina, Melasina,
    Oligochaeta, Patellina, Pholidota, Polyphaga, Proboscidea, Pterygota, Raphiinae, Trichiuridae.
    
    The family Delphinidae can also be italicised or not, depending on the case:
    a) the family Delphinidae is not italicised when following the legislative requirement to comply with the
    standard references for nomenclature contained in Annex VIII to 32006R0865 in order to indicate the
    scientific names of taxa.
    b) the family Delphinidae is italicised in some cases where there is no formal requirement to comply
    with the zoological nomenclature, e.g., in the fisheries legislation (e.g., 32007R0520). ↩︎
17. For example, we suggest Phaeophyceae (instead of PHAEOPHYCEAE in the ASFIS list) or Columbiformes (as opposed to COLUMBIFORMES in 32006R0865) or Megaperidae (instead of
    MEGAPERIDAE in the Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 79 (15 October 2022) ISSN 2057-0570). ↩︎
18. See Zeus faber. ↩︎
19. E.g. in the case of ‘Vicia faba var. faba‘ and ‘Vicia faba subsp. faba‘ (771231), scientific sources do
    not agree on the accepted name. Add both terms to the entry, and mark them both as ‘Reliable’ ★★★. ↩︎
20. The term in Latin does not have a corresponding FAO code in the ASFIS list; see Pennatulidae. ↩︎
21. See Caproidae. ↩︎
22. See Amblyraja radiata. ↩︎
23. See Engraulis encrasicolus. ↩︎
24. See Dipturus batis. ↩︎
25. See Micromesistius poutassou. ↩︎
26. See Dicentrarchus labrax. ↩︎
27. See subspecies. ↩︎
28. See Ammodytes spp.. ↩︎
29. See Ammodytidae. ↩︎
30. Also called the ‘ASFIS list’. The list is updated in February each year (but published a couple of months after that). ↩︎
31. See Ammodytidae. ↩︎
32. See the related IATE entries Loliginidae, Ommastrephidae and Loliginidae, Ommastrephidae. Other slightly different examples are Otariidae, Phocidae and Otariidae, Phocidae. ↩︎
33. See Amblyraja radiata, RJR. ↩︎

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Examples of IATE entries to help guide your work