"NAMED AMPHIBOLES": A NEW CATEGORY OF AMPHIBOLES RECOGNIZED BY THE INTERNATIONAL MINERALOGICAL ASSOCIATION (IMA), AND THE PROPER ORDER OF PREFIXES TO BE USED IN AMPHIBOLE NAMES

Abstract

The IMA-CNMMN has now recognized a new category of names, "named amphiboles", which can be published without its previous approval, so long as the names agree with its system of amphibole nomenclature. Generally in these cases, only the chemical composition and the symmetry, either monoclinic or orthorhombic, will be known. These are not new species of amphibole, and the IMA-CNMMN criteria for recognition of new species remain unchanged. In addition, for the first time, the order in which prefixes appear in amphibole names, whether in names of species or in "named amphiboles", is here defined.