The author of a name is not part of the name of a taxon, and its citation is optional in most types of publications. Author names should be used in a formal taxonomic publication, and the Zoological Code recommends inclusion of the author with names of genera and lower ranks. Family names of authors are not usually abbreviated; they are followed by a comma and the year of publication:
Petaurus breviceps Waterhouse, 1839
Petrogale coenensis Eldridge & Close, 1992
[Do not replace the & with and; et can be used instead of &.]
Antechinus agilis Dickman, Parnaby, Crowther & King, 1998 or Antechinus agilis Dickman et al, 1998
[If there are 3 or more authors, the name of the first author may be followed with et al.]
Acrobates pygmaeus (Shaw, 1794)
[Didelphis pygmaea Shaw, 1794 was transferred to the genus Acrobates; author of original name is retained in parentheses but author who made the change is not added.]
