A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have been previously described or related species. For a species to be considered valid, a species description must follow established guidelines and naming conventions dictated by relevant nomenclature codes. These include the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) for animals, the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) for plants, and the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) for viruses. A species description often includes photographs or other illustrations of type material and information regarding where this material is deposited. The publication in which the species is described gives the new species a formal scientific name. Some 1.9million species have been identified and described, out of some 8.7million that may actually exist. Additionally, over five billion species have gone extinct over the history of life on Earth.

Naming process

A name of a new species becomes valid (available in zoological terminology) with the date of publication of its formal scientific description. Once the scientist has performed the necessary research to determine that the discovered organism represents a new species, the scientific results are summarized in a scientific manuscript, either as part of a book or as a paper to be submitted to a scientific journal.

A scientific species description must fulfill several formal criteria specified by the nomenclature codes, e.g. selection of at least one type specimen. These criteria are intended to ensure that the species name is clear and unambiguous, for example, the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature states that "Authors should exercise reasonable care and consideration in forming new names to ensure that they are chosen with their subsequent users in mind and that, as far as possible, they are appropriate, compact, euphonious, memorable, and do not cause offence."

Species names are written in the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, but many species names are based on words from other languages, and are Latinized.

Once the manuscript has been accepted for publication, the new species name is officially created.

Once a species name has been assigned and approved, it can generally not be changed except in the case of error. For example, a species of beetle (Anophthalmus hitleri) was named by a German collector after Adolf Hitler in 1933 when he had recently become chancellor of Germany. It is not clear whether such a dedication would be considered acceptable or appropriate today, but the name remains in use.

Species names have been chosen on many different bases. The most common is a naming for the species' external appearance, its origin, or the species name is a dedication to a certain person. Examples would include a bat species named for the two stripes on its back (Saccopteryx bilineata), a frog named for its Bolivian origin (Phyllomedusa boliviana), and an ant species dedicated to the actor Harrison Ford (Pheidole harrisonfordi). A scientific name in honor of a person or persons is known as a taxonomic eponym or eponymic; patronym and matronym are the gendered terms for this.

A number of humorous species names also exist. Literary examples include the genus name Borogovia (an extinct dinosaur), which is named after the borogove, a mythical character from Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky". A second example, Macrocarpaea apparata (a tall plant) was named after the magical spell "to apparate" from the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling, as it seemed to appear out of nowhere. In 1975, the British naturalist Sir Peter Scott proposed the binomial name Nessiteras rhombopteryx ("Ness monster with diamond-shaped fin") for the Loch Ness Monster; it was soon spotted that it was an anagram of "monster hoax by Sir Peter S".

Recognizing benefactors through species naming

Species have frequently been named by scientists in recognition of supporters and benefactors. For example, the genus Victoria (a flowering waterplant) was named in honour of Queen Victoria of Great Britain. More recently, a species of lemur (Avahi cleesei) was named after the actor John Cleese in recognition of his work to publicize the plight of lemurs in Madagascar.

Non-profit ecological organizations may also allow benefactors to name new species in exchange for financial support for taxonomic research and nature conservation. A German non-profit organisation, BIOPAT – Patrons for Biodiversity, has raised more than $450,000 for research and conservation through sponsorship of over 100 species using this model. An individual example of this system is the Plecturocebus aureipalatii (or "monkey of the Golden Palace"), which was named after the Golden Palace casino in recognition of a $650,000 contribution to the Madidi National Park in Bolivia in 2005.

The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants discourages this practice somewhat: "Recommendation 20A. Authors forming generic names should comply with the following ... (h) Not dedicate genera to persons quite unconcerned with botany, mycology, phycology, or natural science in general."

History

Original title page of Linnaeus's Systema Naturae, published in 1735

Early biologists often published entire volumes or multiple-volume works of descriptions in an attempt to catalog all known species. These catalogs typically featured extensive descriptions of each species and were often illustrated upon reprinting.

The first of these large catalogs was Aristotle's History of Animals, published around 343BC. Aristotle included descriptions of creatures, mostly fish and invertebrates, in his homeland, and several mythological creatures rumored to live in far-away lands, such as the manticore.

In 77AD Pliny the Elder dedicated several volumes of his Natural History to the description of all life forms he knew to exist. He appears to have read Aristotle's work since he writes about many of the same far-away mythological creatures.

Toward the end of the 12th century, Konungs skuggsjá, an Old Norse philosophical didactic work, featured several descriptions of the whales, seals, and monsters of the Icelandic seas. These descriptions were brief and often erroneous, and they included a description of the mermaid and a rare island-like sea monster called hafgufu. The author was hesitant to mention the beast (known today to be fictitious) for fear of its size, but felt it was important enough to be included in his descriptions.

However, the earliest recognized species authority is Carl Linnaeus, who standardized the modern taxonomy system beginning with his Systema Naturae in 1735.

As the catalog of known species was increasing rapidly, it became impractical to maintain a single work documenting every species. Publishing a paper documenting a single species was much faster and could be done by scientists with less broadened scopes of study. For example, a scientist who discovered a new species of insect would not need to understand plants, or frogs, or even insects which did not resemble the species, but would only need to understand closely related insects.

Modern differences

Formal species descriptions today follow strict guidelines set forth by the codes of nomenclature. Very detailed formal descriptions are made by scientists, who usually study the organism closely for a considerable time. A diagnosis may be used instead of, or as well as the description. A diagnosis specifies the distinction between the new species and other species, and it does not necessarily have to be based on morphology. In recent times, new species descriptions have been made without voucher specimens, and this has been controversial.

Statistics

Analysis of species databases reveals that new species descriptions is increasing and currently at an all-time peak

YearTotal new species descriptionsAnimalsPlantsFungiProtistsChromistaBacteriaArcheaCumulative species descriptions 192096856693208685524180229280 19218915609218668361210360232103 1922110687698227480215268101235473 19239910690222465776161180238481 192411173791422369101982120241740 1925110948215199578598370244619 1926119009054168295610180180247465 192710957809918917908158110250323 192811499836720538417211200253455 192911144771925745112830390256880 193010275761217365828326110259543 193111286799120938951129042262838 193211225808521786102032390265978 19339811729717255372236140268492 1934115658047208312764136190272010 193511018826719985049216240274761 1936115538280260853412108101278034 193710280755820345492126110280756 19381155490081795626111680283302 1939109538152187381559990286103 194010027730819485975154141288822 1941856963071475696863200291084 1942737353331607372447100293124 194360014400117836745020294725 1944530537541086383068140296276 19454669332476552524940297621 194647853471777479143770298935 19475786404884780047872300673 19486006413711046172135110302542 194970915201137044636380304432 19508574574218657286218150307264 19519093664615327354162131309711 1952908768801210892280230311918 1953896265121566772281290314368 19549334708311479098170170316619 1955979375121255907979310318900 19569779792310936361581310320756 195794707033135782416150900323193 19589956763614167409119351325513 1959974276729521020860300327583 1960103387963127489912157330329958 196199437528131990323135350332373 1962107778709110277115143370334441 196310094781313088351080480336722 196411004851713469921891400339209 1965117099356136980515122420341562 196610144769814958121781410344008 196711106886813217873070300346246 1968120459654128493345102261348637 196910149790012878111786480350886 1970105788458113280228107501353006 1971111338856110810402762400355283 19721178486561807116521103302358411 1973111308782128790718102340360759 197411114872114327852186681363152 19751105180531379116633382362366150 197610270788214497983471360368538 19771340090291558973661752211372909 197811552854020398232784390375921 19791278996711839103647161341379039 198012353896922759613090262382423 1981130039634187882246554645385792 198212255909321738402055713388954 19831336899832016112949821009392339 19841253195311995756311248311395339 1985122729159204185224881026398452 1986137241032621321003481119212401850 19871354810175210110912978722405223 198813714102772127960272179313408660 198912970909121921432311199411412539 19901335010019216791555949010415870 199113051972923258082986695419192 1992129701018918597452767812421973 19931386910608204997923941133425234 19941361410633173196926162885428215 199513293100272064905321231366431481 199612729917422371097353813711435036 19971302695272065117214741659438535 199813749105681994949273915418441716 19991317696592233983236919712445233 2000133011018416531135356821016448350 2001135449834214611561513224516452060 20021430710908183810562319027517455459 200313611100591904124530503167459011 2004148201100720351335184237211462824 20051335398961966908297246616466281 2006147031085021821063214852415470134 2007150441078622571343225355825474392 2008151781111021131317225754217478460 2009155341112622781437235260711482868 2010151151112322041140274655421486860 2011159781190521001327194455924490933 2012156261085223941699253860612495707 2013152811029024601645263679925500698 2014156071050524651810262273841505800 2015167981105627741967163591238511542 2016164291009825682722184295922517873 2017166171057127272551114769614523919 2018154069910294124522629480529415 2019138698952251123332418301534332 20201704410936271431279162420540440

See also

Bibliography

  • McNeill, J.; Barrie, F.R.; Buck, W.R.; Demoulin, V.; Greuter, W.; Hawksworth, D.L.; Herendeen, P.S.; Knapp, S.; Marhold, K.; Prado, J.; Prud'homme Van Reine, W.F.; Smith, G.F.; Wiersema, J.H.; Turland, N.J. (2012). . Vol.Regnum Vegetabile 154. A.R.G. Gantner Verlag KG. ISBN978-3-87429-425-6.

Other sources

  • Winston, Judith E. 1999. Describing Species: Practical Taxonomic Procedure For Biologists. Columbia University Press. ISBN0-231-06824-7

External links

  • Works related todescriptions of new speciesat Wikisource