def remove_empty_ranks(self, tax_list):
new_tax_list = []<EOL>for rank in tax_list:<EOL><INDENT>if rank not in self.meaningless_taxonomic_names:<EOL><INDENT>new_tax_list.append(rank)<EOL><DEDENT><DEDENT>return new_tax_list<EOL>
Removes empty rank prefixes

Parameters
----------
tax_list    : list
    A list of taxonomic ranks.
Returns
-------
A list of taxonomic ranks with empty prefixes removed.