Final answer:
The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature sets standards for naming taxa, providing universally accepted scientific names for species, essential for clear scientific communication.
Step-by-step explanation:
The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) sets standards for naming taxa. It provides a systematic framework for naming and classifying animals to ensure that each species has a unique and universally accepted scientific name. This is greatly important to avoid confusion that could arise from language differences or multiple common names for the same species. Taxonomists, including paleontologists, follow these standards to name new species or to reclassify existing ones based on new evidence. The ICZN does not identify Homo sapiens as a dinosaur; rather, it classifies them under the family Hominidae. Also, while the ICZN does recognize Tyrannosaurus rex as a dinosaur within the clade Dinosauria, it is not the ICZN's role to identify species as dinosaurs specifically. The claim that the ICZN is ignored by most paleontologists is false; it is a widely recognized system essential to their work.
For example, Carolus Linnaeus is renowned for developing the binomial nomenclature system, which is a key component of the ICZN, wherein each species is assigned a two-part Latinized name consisting of a genus name followed by a specific epithet. This is shown in naming our own species, Homo sapiens, and it is a standard convention in taxonomic classification.