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(For more detailed assistance, refer to the Council of Biology Editors Style Manual and the U.S. Geologic Survey’s Suggestions for Authors.)
4.9.1 Capitalize names of genus, family, order, class, and phylum, but not the species or subspecies.
EXAMPLES
Iris prismatica [genus and species]
Chordata [phylum]
4.9.2 Generally, use lowercase for common plant and animal names.
EXAMPLES
| puffin | foxgloves |
| gerbil | hemlock |
4.9.3 Capitalize geological terms.
EXAMPLES
Tertiary period
early Pliocene epoch
4.9.4 Capitalize astronomical terms.
EXAMPLES
| North Star | Milky Way |
| Ursa Major | Halley’s comet |
4.9.5 Lowercase medical terms, except for proper names within the term.
EXAMPLES
Hodgkin’s disease
measles
4.9.6 Lowercase generic drug names.
EXAMPLE
propoxyphene
4.9.7 Capitalize infectious organisms, but use lowercase for diseases based on such names.
EXAMPLES
| Giardia lambia | Trichinella spiralis |
| giardiasis | trichinosis |
4.9.8 Capitalize only proper names attached to laws and principles.
EXAMPLES
Boyle’s law
first law of thermodynamics
4.9.9 Capitalize chemical symbols, but not the names.
EXAMPLES
| sodium chloride | urea |
| NaCl | CH4ON2 |