Principle of homonymy

In zoology, the principle of homonymy is one of the guiding principles of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.

It states that any one name, in one particular spelling, may be used only once (within its group).

This will typically be the first-published name; any later name with the same spelling (a homonym) is typically barred from being used.

The principles of priority and the first reviser apply here.

For family-group names the termination (which is rank-bound) is not taken into account.