Taxonomists are doomed to hear the same questions, the same arguments, and the same answers every generation! As it stands, the rule (ICZN Arts. 56b, 57f) indicates that a one-letter difference is sufficient to distinguish the names of species. There are a few exceptions for species names (Art. 58); these derive mostly from spelling variations in the Latin language itself, or in the way that Greek letters are transcribed into Latin. The most common instance deals with words that historically have varied among spellings with ae, oe, and e: for example, caeruleus, coeruleus, ceruleus are all considered to be homonyms. Likewise with ei, i, y, as in cheiropus, chiropus, chyropus; and with i and j, as in iavanus and javanus, maior and major. Also, names ending in -i and -ii are treated as homonyms. Fourteen exceptions are listed altogether. They apply only to words that are apt to be confused because they have the same origin and meaning. These are the only exceptions that are allowed. If others were allowed, it would destabilize nomenclature, because there are many pairs of words that differ by a single letter but have different meanings, e.g., altus "high, tall" and albus "white". A lot of names would have to be changed, and where would it all end? Andrew K. Rindsberg Geological Survey of Alabama