Taxonomy of Finfish (1+2)

1.2.4 Law of Priority

The valid name of the genus, species or subspecies must be the oldest name that fulfils the requirements of the Law of Priority. This important rule was agreed upon in order to avoid confusion in the application of scientific names and to eliminate duplication. In general, names published earlier take precedence over the names of the same rank published latter. If other names are subsequently published for the same taxon, they become synonyms (invalid names). If more than one name for a single taxon or identical names for different taxa are published simultaneously, it becomes the privilege of the first reviser to select one of these names as the valid one and to place the others in synonymy.