Editing Genus (section)

===Categories of generic name===
In zoological usage, taxonomic names, including those of genera, are classified as "available" or "unavailable". Available names are those published in accordance with the [[International Code of Zoological Nomenclature]]; the earliest such name for any taxon (for example, a genus) should then be selected as the "[[valid name (zoology)|valid]]" (i.e., current or accepted) name for the taxon in question.

Consequently, there will be more available names than valid names at any point in time; which names are currently in use depending on the judgement of taxonomists in either combining taxa described under multiple names, or splitting taxa which may bring available names previously treated as synonyms back into use. "Unavailable" names in zoology comprise names that either were not published according to the provisions of the ICZN Code, e.g., incorrect original or subsequent spellings, names published only in a thesis, and generic names published after 1930 with no type species indicated.<ref name="Hawksworth2010">{{cite book|author=D. L. Hawksworth|title=Terms Used in Bionomenclature: The Naming of Organisms and Plant Communities : Including Terms Used in Botanical, Cultivated Plant, Phylogenetic, Phytosociological, Prokaryote (bacteriological), Virus, and Zoological Nomenclature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qky7_6-UcQQC&pg=PA10|year=2010|publisher=GBIF|isbn=978-87-92020-09-3|pages=1–215}}</ref> According to "Glossary" section of the zoological Code, suppressed ''names'' (per published "Opinions" of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature) remain available but cannot be used as the valid name for a taxon; however, the names published in suppressed ''works'' are made unavailable via the relevant Opinion dealing with the work in question.

In botany, similar concepts exist but with different labels. The botanical equivalent of zoology's "available name" is a [[validly published name]]. An invalidly published name is a {{Lang|la|nomen invalidum}} or {{Lang|la|nom. inval.}}; a rejected name is a {{Lang|la|nomen rejiciendum}} or {{Lang|la|nom. rej.}}; a later homonym of a validly published name is a {{Lang|la|nomen illegitimum}} or {{Lang|la|nom. illeg.}}; for a full list refer to the ''[[International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants]]'' and the work cited above by Hawksworth, 2010.<ref name="Hawksworth2010" /> In place of the "valid taxon" in zoology, the nearest equivalent in botany is "[[correct name]]" or "current name" which can, again, differ or change with alternative taxonomic treatments or new information that results in previously accepted genera being combined or split.

[[International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes|Prokaryote]] and [[International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses|virus]] codes of nomenclature also exist which serve as a reference for designating currently{{When|date=August 2023}} accepted genus names as opposed to others which may be either reduced to synonymy, or, in the case of prokaryotes, relegated to a status of "names without standing in prokaryotic nomenclature".

An '''available''' (zoological) or '''validly published''' (botanical) name that has been historically applied to a genus but is not regarded as the accepted (current/valid) name for the taxon is termed a [[synonym (taxonomy)|synonym]]; some authors also include unavailable names in lists of synonyms as well as available names, such as misspellings, names previously published without fulfilling all of the requirements of the relevant nomenclatural code, and rejected or suppressed names.

A particular genus name may have zero to many synonyms, the latter case generally if the genus has been known for a long time and redescribed as new by a range of subsequent workers, or if a range of genera previously considered separate taxa have subsequently been consolidated into one. For example, the [[World Register of Marine Species]] presently lists 8 genus-level synonyms for the sperm whale genus ''[[Physeter]]'' Linnaeus, 1758,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137032|title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Physeter Linnaeus, 1758|website=www.marinespecies.org|access-date=2018-06-02|archive-date=2017-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709213325/http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137032|url-status=live}}</ref> and 13 for the bivalve genus ''[[Pecten (bivalve)|Pecten]]'' O.F. Müller, 1776.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138323|title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Pecten O. F. Müller, 1776|website=www.marinespecies.org|access-date=2018-06-02|archive-date=2018-08-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810174658/http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails|url-status=live}}</ref>