Correct nomenclature and recommendations for preserving and cataloguing voucher material and genetic sequences.

This Editorial provides some advice on (1) the use of scientific species names, including the formation of new species names, (2) the importance of depositing specimens, used for morphological or genetic analyses, in scientific collections that are accessible to other researchers and (3) the importance of ensuring that data associated with genetic sequences submitted to appropriate databases also include information about the specimen from which the sequence was obtained. A review of the practices currently employed in the literature and on the web indicates that there are different opinions on some of the points discussed below. Nevertheless, the main objectives of this Editorial are to encourage authors to be diligent in the way they use names and record data, to assist authors who might be unfamiliar with any of these practices and to direct authors to additional databases and guidelines (especially the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature that can give further explanation).