Lapsus calami is a Latin term for "a slip of the pen". This term has its origins in zoology and taxonomy, where people often misspell scientific names, especially when they have not studied Latin. Although Latin was once the language of choice for educated individuals, making the use of Latin for scientific names very sensible, this language is much less widely studied today. This can make researchers prone to errors when they try to recall the spelling of a scientific name.

Zoologists actually have a specific name for a lapsus calami involving a scientific name; it's known as a nomen nullum, a “null name.” The spelling of scientific names can be further complicated by disputes over the scientific name of an organism, especially when a scientific name is derived from the name of the person who discovered the organism, or the location where it was discovered.

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