Abstract:
The Amsterdam Declaration on Fungal Nomenclature was agreed at an
international symposium convened in Amsterdam on 19–20 April 2011 under the auspices
of the International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi (ICTF). The purpose of the
symposium was to address the issue of whether or how the current system of naming
pleomorphic fungi should be maintained or changed now that molecular data are routinely
available. The issue is urgent as mycologists currently follow different practices, and no
consensus was achieved by a Special Committee appointed in 2005 by the International
Botanical Congress to advise on the problem. The Declaration recognizes the need for
an orderly transition to a single-name nomenclatural system for all fungi, and to provide
mechanisms to protect names that otherwise then become endangered. That is, meaning that
priority should be given to the first described name, except where there is a younger name
in general use when the first author to select a name of a pleomorphic monophyletic genus
is to be followed, and suggests controversial cases are referred to a body, such as the ICTF,
which will report to the Committee for Fungi. If appropriate, the ICTF could be mandated to
promote the implementation of the Declaration.
Description:
Note from the Mycotaxon Editor-in-Chief: Only the Declaration text is published here as a courtesy
to Mycotaxon readers. For the full document addressing additional suggestions and other items of
interest, please refer to Hawksworth & al. (IMA Fungus 2(1): 105–112, 2011).
