Names of phyla

The inclusion of phylum names into the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokarotes (ICNP) followed four steps. First, Oren et al. (2015) proposed names composed of the stem of the name of the type class followed by the ending -aeota. They listed the 33 names formed according to that scheme but these were not intended to be used at that time. Second, Whitman et al. (2018) proposed names composed of the stem of the name of the type class followed by the ending -ota. Again, they listed 33 names, now formed according to the slightly modified scheme, but these were not intended to be used at that time either. Third, the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (ICSP) discussed these proposals. During the debate, the proposal by Tindall (2019) to use the genus category for the nomenclatural type of all taxa of rank higher than genus was considered. Fourth, the ICSP conducted a ballot and opted for phylum names composed of the stem of the name of the type genus followed by the ending -ota. The outcome of the voting and the resulting changes of the ICNP are documented in Oren et al. (2021). This step still did not generate any phylum names validly published under the ICNP. This first happened when Oren and Garrity (2021) validly published 42 phylum names using the naming scheme now incorporated into the ICNP.

This page was created to document the relationships between the distinct schemes that were proposed for the first 42 phylum names that are now validly published, including the previously proposed vernacular names that are synonyms of the validly published phylum names. Some of these vernacular names had found widespread use. However, the validly published names of phyla follow a uniform naming scheme comprising the stem of the name of the nomenclatural type and the specific ending for the category, as do the vast majority of the names higher than the rank of genus validly published under the ICNP. The long-term benefits of this uniform naming scheme may well outweigh the short-term confusion caused by the introduction of the new names. For instance, the category of a phylum name validly published under the ICNP can immediately be inferred from the name. The same holds regarding the nomenclatural type. Nomenclatural types are stable and independent of taxonomic changes.

For details on the underlying publications and for further information please see the ICSP FAQ, Judicial Opinion 129 and the LPSN page on nomenclature.

Oren and Garrity 2021Whitman et al. 2018Oren et al. 2015Previous
Acidobacteriota"Acidobacteriota""Acidobacteraeota""Acidobacteria"
Actinomycetota"Actinobacteriota""Actinobacteraeota""Actinobacteria"
Aquificota"Aquificota""Aquificaeota""Aquificae"
Armatimonadota"Armatimonadota""Armatimonadaeota""Armatimonadetes"
Atribacterota--"Atribacterota"
Bacillota"Bacillota""Bacillaeota""Firmicutes"
Bacteroidota"Bacteroidota""Bacteroidaeota""Bacteroidetes"
Balneolota--"Balneolota"
Bdellovibrionota"Alphaproteobacteriota""Alphaproteobacteraeota""Bdellovibrionota"
Caldisericota"Caldisericota""Caldisericaeota""Caldiserica"
Calditrichota--"Calditrichota"
Campylobacterota"Alphaproteobacteriota""Alphaproteobacteraeota""Campylobacterota"
Chlamydiota"Chlamydiota""Chlamydaeota""Chlamydiae"
Chlorobiota"Chlorobiota""Chlorobaeota""Chlorobi"
Chloroflexota"Chloroflexota""Chloroflexaeota""Chloroflexi"
Chrysiogenota"Chrysiogenetota""Chrysiogenaeota""Chrysiogenetes"
Coprothermobacterota--"Coprothermobacterota"
Deferribacterota"Deferribacterota""Deferribacteraeota""Deferribacteres"
Deinococcota"Deinococcota""Deinococcaeota""Deinococcus-Thermus"
Dictyoglomerota"Dictyoglomerota""Dictyoglomaeota""Dictyoglomera"
Dictyoglomota"Dictyoglomota""Dictyoglomaeota""Dictyoglomi"
Elusimicrobiota"Elusimicrobiota""Elusimicrobaeota""Elusimicrobia"
Fibrobacterota"Fibrobacterota""Fibrobacteraeota""Fibrobacteres"
Fusobacteriota"Fusobacteriota""Fusobacteraeota""Fusobacteria"
Gemmatimonadota"Gemmatimonadota""Gemmatimonadaeota""Gemmatimonadetes"
Ignavibacteriota"Ignavibacteriota""Ignavibacteraeota""Ignavibacteriae"
Kiritimatiellota--"Kiritimatiellaeota"
Lentisphaerota"Lentisphaerota""Lentisphaeraeota""Lentisphaerae"
Mycoplasmatota"Mollicutota""Mollicutaeota""Tenericutes"
Myxococcota"Alphaproteobacteriota""Alphaproteobacteraeota""Myxococcota"
Nitrososphaerota"Nitrososphaerota""Nitrososphaeraeota""Candidatus Korarchaeota"
Nitrospinota--"Nitrospinae"
Nitrospirota"Nitrospirota""Nitrospiraeota""Nitrospirae"
Planctomycetota"Planctomycetota""Planctomycetaeota""Planctomycetes"
Pseudomonadota"Alphaproteobacteriota""Alphaproteobacteraeota""Proteobacteria"
Rhodothermota--"Rhodothermaeota"
Spirochaetota"Spirochaetota""Spirochaetaeota""Spirochaetes"
Synergistota"Synergistota""Synergistaeota""Synergistetes"
Thermodesulfobacteriota"Thermodesulfobacteriota""Thermodesulfobacteraeota""Thermodesulfobacteria"
Thermomicrobiota"Thermomicrobiota""Thermomicrobaeota""Thermomicrobia"
Thermoproteota"Thermoproteota""Thermoproteaeota""Crenarchaeota"
Thermotogota"Thermotogota""Thermotogaeota""Thermotogae"
Verrucomicrobiota"Verrucomicrobiota""Verrucomicrobaeota""Verrucomicrobia"

This LPSN page was printed on 2024-03-29 09:18:11