International Code of Zoological Nomenclature tells nothing about “use the additional lettering in indication of year description of species”. However it tells:
51.1. Optional use of names of authors. The name of the author does not form part of the name of a taxon and its citation is optional, although customary and often advisable.
So to my mind it is clear that one can freely used everything, including letters.
For example one can freely use one of these forms
Smith et Smith
Smith & Smith
Smith, Smith
I prefer first option, as it is Latin, usually used second.
Practically however usually in such a papers at the same time usually there is “Synonymy”. So it is not necessary to use letters directly in names of taxa, may be enough to use it in synonymy. But it is a matter of taste.
I have another question
Many of us use (or have used) the term nuchal organ. However, I cannot find a definition of this term. Does anybody know a strict and precise definition that can be used to determine whether a structure is a nuchal organ or not.
wormly Igor
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Dr. Sc. Igor A. Jirkov
Leading Scientific Researcher
Department of Hydrobiology
Biological faculty
Moscow State University
Moscow
Russia
http://hydro.bio.msu.ru/Personal/Jirkov.htm
