In taxonomic studies, the name(s) of the author(s) and the date of publication for each genus or taxon of lower rank should be cited at least once in the text, preferably at first mention of the taxon, and may be omitted subsequently, provided no confusion is caused. According to the ICZN, the name(s) of the author(s) should not be abbreviated except, optionally, where the author(s) are known by the abbreviated name (e.g. 'L.' for 'Linnaeus'). This topic is discussed under ICBN recommendations – not Articles, but the practice of author abbreviation in GSC reports is not encouraged.

The author's name should follow the name of the taxon without any intervening mark of punctuation. There should be a comma between the author's name and the date. For example: Orthis umbella Barrande, 1848; Cubiceps gracilis (Lowe, 1843). In these examples, the dates are parts of the species names and thus do not constitute publication citations.

When a zoological species has been transferred from the original genus to another genus, the authors' name (and where necessary, date of publication) is in brackets. For example: Paltodus recurvatus Rhodes is now Panderodus recurvatus (Rhodes). New combinations under the ICBN must contain the name(s) of the original author(s) in parentheses, followed by the name(s) of the combining author(s) and date of publication. For example: Baltisphaeridium bimarginatum (Timofeev) Downie & Sarjeant, 1965.

The ICBN recommends that the names of two joint authors of a taxon be joined by 'et' or an ampersand (&) instead of 'and'. Where there are more than two joint authors, the citation should consist of the first author, followed by 'et al.', with no punctuation between the author's name and 'et al.'. Where an author has described a botanical or zoological taxon in a work by another author, in should be used:

Comments on, or additions to, determinations should not be italicized, but should be in square brackets: