tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/taxonomy-1295/articlesTaxonomy – The Conversation2024-02-19T03:46:27Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2235492024-02-19T03:46:27Z2024-02-19T03:46:27ZScientists shocked to discover new species of green anaconda, the world’s biggest snake<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576419/original/file-20240219-26-4pucih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5294%2C3532&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The green anaconda has long been considered one of the Amazon’s most <a href="https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1916160_1916151_1916136,00.html">formidable and mysterious</a> animals. Our <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/2/127">new research</a> upends scientific understanding of this magnificent creature, revealing it is actually two genetically different species. The surprising finding opens a new chapter in conservation of this top jungle predator.</p>
<p>Green anacondas are the world’s heaviest snakes, and among the longest. Predominantly found in rivers and wetlands in South America, they are renowned for their lightning speed and ability to asphyxiate huge prey then swallow them whole.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I were shocked to discover significant genetic differences between the two anaconda species. Given the reptile is such a large vertebrate, it’s remarkable this difference has slipped under the radar until now. </p>
<p>Conservation strategies for green anacondas must now be reassessed, to help each unique species cope with threats such as climate change, habitat degradation and pollution. The findings also show the urgent need to better understand the diversity of Earth’s animal and plant species before it’s too late.</p>
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<img alt="snake on branches above water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Scientists discovered a new snake species known as the northern green anaconda.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bryan Fry</span></span>
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<h2>An impressive apex predator</h2>
<p>Historically, four anaconda species have been recognised, including green anacondas (also known as giant anacondas).</p>
<p>Green anacondas are true behemoths of the reptile world. The largest females can grow to more than <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/anaconda#ref708759">seven metres long</a> and weigh <a href="https://taronga.org.au/news/2018-07-11/green-anaconda-weighs">more than 250 kilograms</a>.</p>
<p>The snakes are well-adapted to a life lived mostly in water. Their nostrils and eyes are on top of their head, so they can see and breathe while the rest of their body is submerged. Anacondas are olive-coloured with large black spots, enabling them to blend in with their surroundings.</p>
<p>The snakes inhabit the lush, intricate waterways of South America’s Amazon and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Orinoco-Basin">Orinoco</a> basins. They are known for their stealth, patience and surprising agility. The buoyancy of the water supports the animal’s substantial bulk and enables it to move easily and leap out to ambush prey as large as capybaras (giant rodents), caimans (reptiles from the alligator family) and deer. </p>
<p>Green anacondas are not venomous. Instead they take down prey using their large, flexible jaws then crush it with their strong bodies, before swallowing it.</p>
<p>As apex predators, green anacondas are vital to maintaining balance in their ecosystems. This role extends beyond their hunting. Their very presence alters the behaviour of a wide range of other species, influencing where and how they forage, breed and migrate.</p>
<p>Anacondas are highly sensitive to environmental change. Healthy anaconda populations indicate vibrant ecosystems, with ample food resources and clean water. Declining anaconda numbers may be harbingers of environmental distress. So knowing which anaconda species exist, and monitoring their numbers, is crucial.</p>
<p>To date, there has been little research into genetic differences between anaconda species. Our research aimed to close that knowledge gap.</p>
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Read more:
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<img alt="snake in water eating deer" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Green anaconda have large, flexible jaws. Pictured: a green anaconda eating a deer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">JESUS RIVAS</span></span>
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<h2>Untangling anaconda genes</h2>
<p>We studied representative samples from all anaconda species throughout their distribution, across nine countries.</p>
<p>Our project spanned almost 20 years. Crucial pieces of the puzzle came from samples we collected on a 2022 expedition to the Bameno region of Baihuaeri Waorani Territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon. We took this trip at the invitation of, and in collaboration with, Waorani leader Penti Baihua. Actor Will Smith also joined the expedition, as part of a series he is filming for National Geographic. </p>
<p>We surveyed anacondas from various locations throughout their ranges in South America. Conditions were difficult. We paddled up muddy rivers and slogged through swamps. The heat was relentless and swarms of insects were omnipresent. </p>
<p>We collected data such as habitat type and location, and rainfall patterns. We also collected tissue and/or blood from each specimen and analysed the samples back in the lab. This revealed the green anaconda, formerly believed to be a single species, is actually two genetically distinct species. </p>
<p>The first is the known species, <em>Eunectes murinus</em>, which lives in Perú, Bolivia, French Guiana and Brazil. We have given it the common name “southern green anaconda”. The second, newly identified species is <em>Eunectes akayima</em> or “northern green anaconda”, which is found in Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.</p>
<p>We also identified the period in time where the green anaconda diverged into two species: almost 10 million years ago. </p>
<p>The two species of green anaconda look almost identical, and no obvious geographical barrier exists to separate them. But their level of genetic divergence – 5.5% – is staggering. By comparison, the genetic difference between humans and apes is <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-does-the-fact-that-w/#:%7E:text=Most%20studies%20indicate%20that%20when,size%20of%20the%20comparison%20unit.">about 2%</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-forgotten-amazon-as-a-critical-summit-nears-politicians-must-get-serious-about-deforestation-in-bolivia-205263">The forgotten Amazon: as a critical summit nears, politicians must get serious about deforestation in Bolivia</a>
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<img alt="green anaconda underwater" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The two green anaconda species live much of their lives in water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Preserving the web of life</h2>
<p>Our research has peeled back a layer of the mystery surrounding green anacondas. This discovery has significant implications for the conservation of these species – particularly for the newly identified northern green anaconda. </p>
<p>Until now, the two species have been managed as a single entity. But each may have different ecological niches and ranges, and face different threats. </p>
<p>Tailored conservation strategies must be devised to safeguard the future of both species. This may include new legal protections and initiatives to protect habitat. It may also involve measures to mitigate the harm caused by climate change, deforestation and pollution — such as devastating effects of <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/critics-question-causes-behind-major-oil-spill-in-ecuadorian-amazon/">oil spills</a> on aquatic habitats. </p>
<p>Our research is also a reminder of the complexities involved in biodiversity conservation. When species go unrecognised, they can slip through the cracks of conservation programs. By incorporating genetic taxonomy into conservation planning, we can better preserve Earth’s intricate web of life – both the species we know today, and those yet to be discovered.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223549/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Bryan G. Fry is a National Geographic Explorer and has previously received funding as part of this role.</span></em></p>Green anacondas are the world’s heaviest snakes, and among the longest. it’s remarkable this hidden species has slipped under the radar until now.Bryan G. Fry, Professor of Toxicology, School of the Environment, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223352024-02-01T11:45:51Z2024-02-01T11:45:51ZRogue taxonomists, competing lists and accusations of anarchy: the complicated journey toward a list of all life on Earth – podcast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572430/original/file-20240131-23-p66p9l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C50%2C3354%2C2494&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's not easy to create a list of all life on Earth. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/colorful-aquarium-showing-different-fishes-swimming-80384149">Ingrid Prats via Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In our chaotic, rapidly changing modern world, many of us have come to rely on science to provide a sense of order. So it may be disconcerting to learn that there is no single, definitive list of all life on Earth. And there never has been. </p>
<p>In this episode of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly</a> podcast, we take you inside the world of taxonomy, where competing lists, rogue taxonomists and recent accusations of anarchy have revealed the messy struggle to classify the world around us.</p>
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<p>It’s remarkably easy to name a new species. “You don’t need peer review. You can put it in a book, you can put it in a magazine, so long as you have followed the rules for naming it and it follows the right Latin,” explains Stephen Garnett, a professor of conservation at Charles Darwin University in Australia. </p>
<p>That new name is then accepted until somebody comes along and refutes it, or publishes another name, says Garnett. And he thinks this is a big problem, particularly for conservationists who rely on clear species definitions in their work.</p>
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<p>Given how difficult it is to keep up with these publications, particularly if they’re somewhere obscure in a book, it means that some people are following some taxonomy, some people are following others. And you get multiple different lists of species depending on whose taxonomy is followed. </p>
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<p>All this is hampering efforts to create one definitive list of life on Earth. A few years ago Garnett put himself at the centre of a taxonomic controversy, when he co-authored a paper in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/546025a">Nature</a> arguing that, “for a discipline aiming to impose order on the natural world, taxonomy (the classification of complex organisms) is remarkably anarchic”. </p>
<p>What ensued was a scientific spat – albeit a good-natured one – about how to go about putting some order to all these competing lists. And how to ensure that rogue taxonomists weren’t allowed to cause chaos. </p>
<p>To find out what happened, listen to the full episode of <a href="https://podfollow.com/the-conversation-weekly/view">The Conversation Weekly</a> podcast. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/3128/Taxonomy_Transcript.docx.pdf?1709723586">transcript of this episode</a> is now available. </p>
<p><em>This episode of The Conversation Weekly also features Signe Dean, science and technology editor for The Conversation in Australia. It was written and produced by Katie Flood, with assistance from Mend Mariwany. Sound design was by Eloise Stevens, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is the executive producer.</em></p>
<p><em>You can find us on X, formerly known as Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_Audio</a>, on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/">theconversationdotcom</a> or <a href="mailto:podcast@theconversation.com">via email</a>. You can also subscribe to The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter">free daily email here</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our <a href="https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60087127b9687759d637bade">RSS feed</a> or find out <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-the-conversations-podcasts-154131">how else to listen here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222335/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Garnett receives funding from the Australian Research Council for a project on taxonomic list governance and coordinates the Catalogue of Life Working Group on Taxonomic Lists. </span></em></p>Stephen Garnett takes us inside a scientific spat about how to govern the naming of new species. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.Gemma Ware, Editor and Co-Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2172112024-01-03T13:19:05Z2024-01-03T13:19:05ZWhat makes a good bird name?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565789/original/file-20231214-19-rc8tcn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5321%2C2818&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bird-watcher-silhouette-112279877">Erkki Alvenmod/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I remember my first close encounter with birds. I must have been about three years old and had discovered a <a href="https://ewatlas.net/animalia/turdus-merula">blackbird</a> nest unusually accessible in our garden hedge. Still naked and blind, the chicks had not long hatched and I discovered that if I poked the nest, four little heads shot up – gapes open wide for feeding. </p>
<p>Discovering a natural jack-in-the-box was a delight and gave me hours of fun – so much so that I may have caused the parents’ desertion, since I found the chicks dead the next day. I take some small consolation from the likelihood that this encounter helped forge a lifetime of fascination and involvement <a href="https://theconversation.com/there-are-over-7-000-english-names-for-birds-heres-what-they-teach-us-about-our-changing-relationship-with-nature-162471">with birds</a>. It may also have contributed to my sense of responsibility to birds and other creatures.</p>
<p>Birds point us to the existence of another world which, unlike the human one, makes no demands of us but to enjoy it and see that it has a future. It is a world that existed before us, into which humans evolved and on which we all <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/biodiversity-and-health">depend</a>.</p>
<p>While not common to all cultures or languages, the distinction between the human and “natural” worlds is deeply embedded in the Anglophone psyche. The importance of birds as a bridge between these worlds is reflected in the names we give them. In the hope of opening that bridge to all, the American Ornithological Society recently announced it would <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/11/01/bird-names-racism-audubon/">replace all bird species named after people</a> in North America. </p>
<p>The decision was spurred by a widely perceived need to distance ornithology from its history of colonial oppression. Several species names, including <a href="https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/results?thrlev1=&amp;thrlev2=&amp;kw=Thick-billed+Longspur&amp;fam=0&amp;gen=0&amp;spc=&amp;cmn=&amp;reg=0&amp;cty=0">McCown’s Longspur</a>, <a href="https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/townsends-solitaire-myadestes-townsendi">Townsend’s Solitaire</a> and <a href="https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/audubons-warbler-setophaga-auduboni">Audubon’s Warbler</a>, evoke men who were involved in slavery and the oppression of the native people of North America.</p>
<p>So, how should these birds be renamed? The history of bird naming in the British Isles offers some solutions.</p>
<h2>It takes a village to name a bird</h2>
<p>Few common names of British birds are eponymous. Only two breeding species, <a href="https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/montagus-harrier">Montague’s Harrier</a> and <a href="https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/cettis-warbler">Cetti’s Warbler</a>, are named for notable people – the first is rare and the latter a recent colonist to the British Isles. </p>
<p>This indicates that the process of naming was a more organic, “bottom-up” and even democratic process than elsewhere in the British empire. We know of more than 7,000 folk names in English for about 150 species of British bird. Mostly recorded during the 19th century, these names indicate a widespread local naming of birds, such that names might not only be regional but specific to particular villages. For example, the <a href="https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/grey-heron">grey heron</a> has 180 recorded English folk names, and the <a href="https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/wren">wren</a> 164. </p>
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<img alt="A grey heron stood next to a stream." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565786/original/file-20231214-19-qfz743.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565786/original/file-20231214-19-qfz743.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565786/original/file-20231214-19-qfz743.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565786/original/file-20231214-19-qfz743.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565786/original/file-20231214-19-qfz743.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565786/original/file-20231214-19-qfz743.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565786/original/file-20231214-19-qfz743.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The grey heron, a common sight at streams and ponds, has gone by many different names.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/grey-heron-ardea-cinerea-longlegged-predatory-2188499307">Monika Surzin/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Nevertheless, a strong national connection to a species, such as might be created by a reference in Shakespeare, could override local perceptions. Hence, the <a href="https://ewatlas.net/digital-heritage/oxfordshires-lost-voices">nightingale</a> – a common presence in <a href="https://www.birdsofshakespeare.com/birds/common-nightingale">Shakespearean plays and poems</a> – has only two recorded names including nightingale itself, which derives from its Saxon roots meaning “night singer” (from the German <em>nachtigall</em>). </p>
<p>Bird names evoke strong emotional connections – potentially linking us not only with specific encounters with birds, but with the context and people who experienced them. These links can <a href="https://ewatlas.net/digital-heritage/ornithological-masterclass-25-ethno-ornithology">last a lifetime</a>, and English folk names reveal the depth of knowledge of those who coined them. </p>
<p>For example, the name “English mockingbird” for the <a href="https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/marsh-warbler">marsh warbler</a> refers to the fact that its song consists almost entirely of the <a href="https://ewatlas.net/digital-heritage/oxfordshires-lost-voices">mimicry of other species</a>. It indicates that whoever coined this name recognised that the bird was singing the songs of other, more familiar species – and the namer knew these songs.</p>
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<p>The marsh warbler’s tendency to sing at night – referenced in another name, “fisherman’s nightingale” – may have focused the listener on its song in the stillness of a summer’s evening long ago.</p>
<h2>Passed down with care</h2>
<p>Many of the folk names given to other species were probably coined by or for children. A strong tendency to include a first name in such names as “<a href="https://ewatlas.net/desfayes/406.php#search:Wren">Katie wren</a>”, “<a href="https://ewatlas.net/desfayes/347.php#search:Redstart">Fanny redtail</a>” and “<a href="https://ewatlas.net/desfayes/313.php#search:Motacilla">Bessy-brantail</a>”, suggests an effort to teach a child the common birds around them. </p>
<p>Names like “<a href="https://ewatlas.net/desfayes/438.php#search:Emberiza">scribble-lark</a>” and “<a href="https://ewatlas.net/desfayes/445.php#search:Miliaria">scribbling schoolmaster</a>” for bunting species, whose eggs appear to have been written on, suggests (as do many more such names) a fascination with nests and eggs. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565780/original/file-20231214-15-rdouhp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Five white eggs with black ink-like markings." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565780/original/file-20231214-15-rdouhp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565780/original/file-20231214-15-rdouhp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565780/original/file-20231214-15-rdouhp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565780/original/file-20231214-15-rdouhp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565780/original/file-20231214-15-rdouhp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565780/original/file-20231214-15-rdouhp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565780/original/file-20231214-15-rdouhp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Inky markings on the ‘scribble-lark’s’ eggs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowhammer#/media/File:Emberiza_citrinella_MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.216_Le_Monetier05.jpg">Didier Descouens/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The preoccupation with collecting eggs (birdnesting) among country children led to a minor rural economy that stocked the mahogany cabinets of Victorian drawing rooms. We know, however, that despite the plethora of local names, they were handed down from generation to generation with great precision. </p>
<p>As ornithologist G.G. Little noted in an 1878 article entitled Provincial Names of British Birds in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Zoologist">The Zoologist</a> magazine: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Has it struck any philologist that names of animals, particularly of birds, whose names are under the protection of the… birdnesting generation, are more likely to be handed down correctly than perhaps any other words…? </p>
</blockquote>
<p>These names were largely collected by ornithologists like Little, who wanted to know what birds were present throughout the British Isles. But the superfluity of names posed a problem. Their solution was to select from among the diverse regional names those which they would agree to hold in common for ornithological discourse.</p>
<p>These became the “common” names, now regarded as the standard names. But they were agreed through consent with no intention, as evidenced through numerous bird books of the time, of these superseding or replacing the local names. </p>
<p>That they generally have done reflects not the imposition of names by committee, but the success of ornithology as a democratised volunteer activity in the UK – a process in keeping with the spirit of recent developments in North America.</p>
<p>However subtly, naming has always reflected a cultural context – and renaming can make a positive contribution. It can only be hoped that renaming birds after their own qualities will help to open the wonder and love of birds to all people.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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</figure>
<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Gosler has received funding from the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council.</span></em></p>North American ornithologists are seeking to replace all bird species named after people - but what should they be called instead?Andrew Gosler, Professor of Ethno-ornithology, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2170822023-12-07T19:19:04Z2023-12-07T19:19:04ZWe thought we’d find 200 species living in our house and yard. We were very wrong<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559530/original/file-20231115-19-q1g80l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C42%2C4025%2C2685&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dot-underwing moth (_Eudocima materna_) found in the researchers' yard.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Holden</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We are biodiversity researchers – an ecologist, a mathematician and a taxonomist – who were locked down together during the COVID pandemic. Being restricted to the house, it didn’t take long before we began to wonder how many species of plants and animals we were sharing the space with. So we set to work counting them all.</p>
<p>We guessed we would find around 200–300, and many of our colleagues guessed the same. </p>
<p>There was nothing extraordinary about our 400 square metre block of land in Annerley, a suburb of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. Roughly half the block was occupied by a three-bedroom house.</p>
<p>What was extraordinary was the number of species we discovered there. As revealed in our just-published study, starting on the first day of lockdown and continuing over the course of a year, we catalogued <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4225">1,150 species</a> on our inner-city property.</p>
<h2>Familiar faces and rare recluses</h2>
<p>Many of the species were what any east coast suburban Australian would expect: ibises, brush turkeys, kookaburras, possums and flying foxes. But, surprisingly, others had rarely been recorded. </p>
<p>In fact, three of the 1,150 species had never been documented in Australia’s leading biodiversity database at that point. This included a rare mosquito, a sandfly and an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platydemus_manokwari">invasive flatworm</a> that can cause populations of native snails to decline. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-39-endangered-species-in-melbourne-sydney-adelaide-and-other-australian-cities-114741">The 39 endangered species in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and other Australian cities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We found common foes, but also many friends. That rare mosquito was just one of 13 mosquito species we found. The cupboards accommodated pantry moths and grain weevils, but also spiders to prey on them (we recorded 56 species). </p>
<p>Our lack of assiduous garden-tending meant weeds were prolific; of the 103 plant species we documented on the property, 100 were non-native. </p>
<p>Apart from weeds, however, the vast majority of species were actually native. Our two massive lilly-pilly trees provided shade, shelter and food, magnets for numerous pollinators and other species. </p>
<h2>Bees and butterflies</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560107/original/file-20231117-27-3o9y36.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo of sleeping bees hanging on a plant stem." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560107/original/file-20231117-27-3o9y36.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560107/original/file-20231117-27-3o9y36.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=889&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560107/original/file-20231117-27-3o9y36.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=889&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560107/original/file-20231117-27-3o9y36.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=889&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560107/original/file-20231117-27-3o9y36.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1117&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560107/original/file-20231117-27-3o9y36.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1117&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560107/original/file-20231117-27-3o9y36.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1117&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Blue-banded bees sleep grasping plant stems with their mandibles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Rogers</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The yard was filled with pollinators. For example, there were hoverflies which, at a quick glance, you’d think were wasps. We had ten species of those, a fraction of the more than 109 species of flies we found. </p>
<p>Native blue-banded bees and fluffy teddybear bees roosted in the hedges under our windows at night. They were just two of more than 70 bee and wasp species we observed. </p>
<p>We also counted a mindblowing 436 species of butterflies and moths. A few were as large as a human hand, but most were tiny and barely noticeable. Some were brightly coloured, while others – like the vampire moth <em>Calyptra minuticornis</em> – seemed boring until we began to study their behaviour. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1252048652337479681"}"></div></p>
<p>The moth <em>Scatochresis innumera</em> is another interesting one: as a caterpillar, it lives inside a single possum poop before emerging as an adult. </p>
<p>The caterpillars of <em>Parilyrgis concolor</em>, yet another moth, live in spiderwebs, surviving on the spider’s food waste, while the adults can be found hanging bat-like from the spiderwebs. It is not known how they avoid getting eaten by the spiders.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A photo of a brown moth hanging from a spiderweb." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564100/original/file-20231207-27-e6h1m6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564100/original/file-20231207-27-e6h1m6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564100/original/file-20231207-27-e6h1m6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564100/original/file-20231207-27-e6h1m6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564100/original/file-20231207-27-e6h1m6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564100/original/file-20231207-27-e6h1m6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564100/original/file-20231207-27-e6h1m6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The caterpillars of the moth Parilyrgis concolor live in spiderwebs, and adults often hang from webs like bats.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Russell Yong</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Wasps and beetles</h2>
<p>We recorded ten species of lycaenid “blue” butterflies, many of which use ants to protect their caterpillars from predators, including certain wasp species which would lay eggs in them if they got a chance.</p>
<p>These wasps are called parasitoids – meaning their young develop in other organisms, eventually killing them. Some of these wasps even parasitise other parasitoid wasps. Our urban homes are clearly complex ecosystems.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560183/original/file-20231117-19-6mz01y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo of a small orange and black bug on a thin tree branch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560183/original/file-20231117-19-6mz01y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560183/original/file-20231117-19-6mz01y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=659&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560183/original/file-20231117-19-6mz01y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=659&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560183/original/file-20231117-19-6mz01y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=659&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560183/original/file-20231117-19-6mz01y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560183/original/file-20231117-19-6mz01y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560183/original/file-20231117-19-6mz01y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A tiny Braconid wasp that parasitises other insects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Holden</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We were surprised to only find just under 100 beetle species (the fourth most common group of organisms in our study). Beetles are widely believed to be the most diverse order of insects on the planet. </p>
<p>Our finding may be a sign of declining beetle populations, which has been observed around the world. On the other hand, it may just have been a bad year for beetles in our neighbourhood.</p>
<h2>An urban environment teeming with life</h2>
<p>Overall, we found far more species than we expected, and we showed that even urban environments can be teeming with wildlife. </p>
<p>A big reason for that was surely the vegetation: the shrubs, trees and weeds in the yard. The monotony of perfectly tended lawn and heavily sprayed and manicured flowerbeds may be nice to look at and for the kids to play on but, as habitat for urban wildlife, it is lacking. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-to-design-cities-where-people-and-nature-can-both-flourish-102849">Here's how to design cities where people and nature can both flourish</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our own laziness meant we did little work in the garden. However, by giving the mower and pesticides a break, and by sacrificing some lawn for native trees, shrubs and flowering weeds, we ended up with something much more valuable.</p>
<p>But no matter what you do to maintain your home, definitely check your porch or balcony light tonight, and keep your eye out for urban wildlife around your home. You too can experience some pretty amazing nature, no matter how urban the environment you live in.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217082/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew H. Holden receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Environment and Science, Queensland</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Rogers and Russell Q-Y Yong do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An ecologist, a mathematician and a taxonomist were locked down together in a suburban house. So they counted all the species of plants and animals they could find.Matthew H. Holden, Lecturer, School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of QueenslandAndrew Rogers, PhD student, The University of QueenslandRussell Q-Y Yong, PhD candidate, Marine Parasitology, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2167012023-12-04T13:27:46Z2023-12-04T13:27:46ZNew England stone walls lie at the intersection of history, archaeology, ecology and geoscience, and deserve a science of their own<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562785/original/file-20231130-25-3xzmdr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C0%2C1800%2C1191&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A typical New England stone wall in Hebron, Conn.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robert M. Thorson</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The abandoned fieldstone walls of New England are every bit as <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-stone-walls-became-a-signature-landform-of-new-england-180983250/">iconic to the region</a> as lobster pots, town greens, sap buckets and fall foliage. They seem to be everywhere – a latticework of dry, lichen-crusted stone ridges separating a patchwork of otherwise moist soils.</p>
<p>Stone walls can be found here and there in other states, but only in New England are they nearly ubiquitous. That’s due to a regionally unique combination of hard crystalline bedrock, glacial soils and farms with patchworks of small land parcels. </p>
<p>Nearly all were built by European settlers and their draft animals, who scuttled glacial stones from agricultural fields and pastures outward to fencelines and boundaries, then tossed or stacked them as lines. Though the <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Long_Deep_Furrow.html?id=Hn-5AAAAIAAJ">oldest walls</a> date to 1607, most were built in the agrarian century between the American Revolution and the cultural shift toward cities and industry after the Civil War. </p>
<p>The mass of stone that farmers moved in that century staggers the mind – an estimated <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/Sermons-in-Stone/null">240,000 miles (400,000 kilometers)</a> of barricades, most stacked thigh-high and similarly wide. That’s long enough to wrap our planet 10 times at the equator, or to reach the Moon on its closest approach to Earth.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BwPUy6kjISv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\u0026igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Natural scientists have been working to quantify this phenomenon, which is larger in volume than the Great Wall of China, Hadrian’s Wall in Britain and the Egyptian pyramids at Giza combined. This work began in 1870 and generated the U.S. government’s 1872 <a href="https://www.primaryresearch.org/stonewalls/fencesurvey.pdf">Census of Fences</a>. Today, scientists are using <a href="https://stonewall.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/534/2014/03/Johnson-and-Ouimet-2014-Rediscovering-the-lost-archaeological-landscape-of-southern-New-England-using-airborne-LiDAR.pdf">a technique called LiDAR</a>, or light detection and ranging, to <a href="https://granit.unh.edu/pages/nh-stone-walls">measure and map</a> stone walls across New England.</p>
<p>Being <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ElExWMsAAAAJ&hl=en">a geologist</a>, I’m interested in walls as landforms that are distinctive to the region, created during the lead-up to the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/11/1187125012/anthropocene-crawford-lake-canada-beginning">Anthropocene</a> epoch – a time when human agency dominates all others. I’ve written about the <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/stone-by-stone-9780802776877/">history of stone walls</a> and how to <a href="https://stonewall.uconn.edu/books-2/exploring-stone-walls/">interpret them in the field</a>, and developed the <a href="https://stonewall.uconn.edu/about-swi/mission-and-purpose/">Stone Wall Initiative</a> to draw public attention to their importance in New England. Now, I’m working with students and colleagues to develop a formal interdisciplinary science of stone walls that will help researchers understand and preserve them.</p>
<h2>Dens and pathways</h2>
<p>My brother-in-law enjoys his backyard wall in Lee, New Hampshire, mainly for its aesthetic, historic and literary ambiance. The wild things living in his neighborhood depend on it as unique habitat. </p>
<p>To lichens and moss, the wall’s dry stones are surfaces where plants can’t compete. For plants, such walls are edges that separate patches of ground into zones that are sunny or shady, windward or leeward, uphill or downhill, wetter or drier. Stone walls offer small mammals porous volumes in which to live their furtive lives. Predators use the walls as hunting blinds and travel corridors.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CdEgCxhvYBv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Just for fun, my brother-in-law installed a motion-activated, infrared video camera on his backyard wall to see who was using the wall and how. On June 21, 2023, the summer solstice, he <a href="https://stonewall.uconn.edu/author/rmt02003/">filmed a bobcat (<em>Lynx rufus</em>)</a> hiding behind it and then using it as an elevated pathway.</p>
<p>The more we researchers learn about New England’s abandoned stone walls, the more we realize that they transcend and obliterate the narrow treatments of our scholarly disciplines. These archaeological artifacts are so ubiquitous that they have become a geological landform that in turn creates a novel ecological habitat. These walls also are literary icons, historic sites and spiritual oracles, as Robert Frost recognized when he penned “<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44266/mending-wall">Mending Wall</a>,” on an <a href="https://www.robertfrostfarm.org/">old farm</a> in Derry, New Hampshire. </p>
<p>But despite their importance, never have the stone walls of New England been technically defined, classified and given a common terminology in a peer-reviewed journal. They fell, it seems, through disciplinary cracks. </p>
<p>My initial step toward changing this situation was writing a mini-monograph in 2023 for the journal Historical Archaeology on the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-023-00432-0">Taxonomy and Nomenclature for the Stone Domain in New England</a>.” Its goal is to coalesce the study of these stone walls into an interdisciplinary science by following the precedents of other disciplines – most notably, the 18th-century <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/taxonomy">Linnaean taxonomy</a> that biologists still use today. Here’s how that approach works:</p>
<h2>Defining and classifying</h2>
<p>Understanding the stone walls of greater New England scientifically requires starting with a technical definition that is based on field criteria rather than tradition or inference. There are many kinds of historical stone features – waste piles, cairns, scatters, lines, kilns, gravestones, cobbles, patios and more. The goal is to isolate walls as a set of objects within this larger domain. </p>
<p>For example, a definition can require that each wall be composed of stone; composed of particles, rather than one enormous slab; continuous; elongated; and sufficiently high. Without such explicit criteria, one person’s wall is another’s elongated pile, and one person’s waste heap is another’s <a href="https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/9781634990493">sacred site</a>.</p>
<p>It’s nice when descriptions and classifications can be loose and flexible, as with genres of music, styles of fashion, and disciplines within academia. These are typologies, bins, pigeonholes. But to make scientific sense of the world, researchers need to convert descriptions into precise definitions and use them in binary, rule-driven classifications. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/search?query=taxonomy">These are taxonomies</a>.</p>
<p>Every field of science requires its own language. Chemists group <a href="https://sciencenotes.org/periodic-table-groups-and-periods/">elements with similar properties</a>, like halogens and noble gases. Biologists divide life forms into <a href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/biological-classification/611149">domains, kingdoms, phyla and smaller groups</a> with shared characteristics. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562817/original/file-20231130-23-c9e5wt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing biological classification of domestic dogs and the larger biological groups to which they belong." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562817/original/file-20231130-23-c9e5wt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562817/original/file-20231130-23-c9e5wt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562817/original/file-20231130-23-c9e5wt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562817/original/file-20231130-23-c9e5wt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562817/original/file-20231130-23-c9e5wt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=761&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562817/original/file-20231130-23-c9e5wt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=761&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562817/original/file-20231130-23-c9e5wt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=761&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This graphic shows how biologists use taxonomy to name, describe and classify one subspecies, domesticated dogs (<em>Canis lupus familiaris</em>), and relate that subspecies to larger groups such as carnivores, mammals and animals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Figure_20_01_05.png">CNX Open Stax/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Terms in stone wall science involve the size, shape, composition, source and arrangement of stones; the vertical and horizontal structures of tiers, courses and terminations; and their topographic settings on the landscape. </p>
<p>Stone wall classification begins with the stone domain – the entire constellation of historical stone objects. From there, we carve out a distinct class of stone walls that’s separate from other rock assemblies, like concentrations and lines, as well as notable individual stones, like <a href="https://seeplymouth.com/listing/plymouth-rock/">Plymouth Rock</a>. Then, using diagnostic criteria, we divide the class walls into five families – free-standing, flanking, supporting, enclosing and blocking – and break them down further into types, subtypes and variants within <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-023-00432-0">a new taxonomy</a>. </p>
<h2>What stone walls can tell us</h2>
<p>At this stage, my students, colleagues and I are just beginning to pair stone wall science with LiDAR techniques at the scale of villages. Tantalizing spatial patterns are emerging. </p>
<p>Different types of walls occur in predictable arrangements. For example, we commonly find well-built double walls near cellar holes, with simpler single walls at further distance and waste piles beyond those. Such patterns provide an independent source of primary documentary evidence that researchers can use to interpret past cultural behaviors, above and beyond the written documents of history and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Small_Things_Forgotten">much smaller artifacts</a> of excavation-based archaeology. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4YAIq-Whttg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Many of New England’s forests stand on land that used to be family farms. Stone walls in these forests mark former boundaries.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Such spatial patterns can also be used for ecological interpretations. For example, a bobcat is more likely to hunt along a normal single wall than other subtypes because it has the required stability and height to support the cat and sufficient void space for prey to live in. </p>
<p>These structures – these elevated drylands – are in some ways analogous to the region’s wetlands, which also are landforms that farmers created or <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/books/book/751/chapter-abstract/3902909/Colonial-impacts-to-wetlands-in-Lebanon?redirectedFrom=fulltext">significantly modified</a> as they settled the land in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, since the 1990s, wetlands have earned a <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/4766/wetlands-characteristics-and-boundaries">robust science</a>, a solid <a href="https://www.epa.gov/wetlands">legal framework</a> and excellent <a href="https://www.nawm.org/">management protocols</a>. </p>
<p>In my view, the time has come to do the same for New England’s stone walls. These dryland structures are so ubiquitous, massive and unique relative to other habitats that it’s high time for natural scientists to give them the respect they deserve.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216701/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert M. Thorson created and coordinates the Stone Wall Initiative, an online resource on the historic stone walls of New England. He is an advocate for their conservation and management, and a frequent public speaker on this topic for land trusts, historical societies, environmental non-profits, public libraries, and “friends of…” organizations. </span></em></p>New England has thousands of miles of stone walls. A geoscientist explains why analyzing them scientifically is a solid step toward preserving themRobert M. Thorson, Professor of Earth Science, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2160062023-10-30T19:10:53Z2023-10-30T19:10:53ZWe need a single list of all life on Earth – and most taxonomists now agree on how to start<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556256/original/file-20231027-21-nxmtp5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=151%2C53%2C4719%2C3316&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/common-kingfisher-alcedo-atthis-wetlands-birdss-2331210013">Sumruay Rattanataipob/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Species lists are one of the unseen pillars of science and society. Lists of species underpin our understanding of the natural world, threatened species management, quarantine, disease control and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13127-021-00518-8">much else besides</a>. </p>
<p>The people who describe new species and create lists of them are taxonomists. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/546025a">A few years ago</a>, a headline in the journal Nature accused the taxonomic community of anarchy for not coordinating a common view of species, leading to confusion about our knowledge of life on earth.</p>
<p>Many in the taxonomic community <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2005075">took umbrage</a> at this. Taxonomists were concerned that the ideas proposed would limit their freedom of expression and they would be tied to a bureaucracy before they could publish new species descriptions.</p>
<p>Taxonomists certainly argue – disputation is <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13127-021-00495-y">essential to the practice of taxonomy</a>, as it is to science in general. Ultimately, however, a taxonomist’s life is spent trying to discern order in the extraordinarily diverse tree of life.</p>
<p>The results of a new survey published today in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2306899120">Proceedings of the National Academies of Science</a>, show just how much taxonomists really do like order.</p>
<h2>Hardly a group of anarchists</h2>
<p>The argument was about how to solve disagreements between taxonomists. Eventually, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-scientific-spat-over-how-to-name-species-turned-into-a-big-plus-for-nature-138887">two sides came together</a> to produce principles on the creation of a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000736">single authoritative list of species</a>.</p>
<p>This group then went to the taxonomic community to survey their views on whether a global species list is needed and how it should be run.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-scientific-spat-over-how-to-name-species-turned-into-a-big-plus-for-nature-138887">How a scientific spat over how to name species turned into a big plus for nature</a>
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<p>The newly published results show that a large majority (77%) of respondents – which included over 1,100 taxonomists and users of taxonomy across 74 countries – have expressed support for having a single list of all life on Earth.</p>
<p>They also agreed there should be a governance system that supports the list’s creation and maintenance. Just what that governance system would entail is not yet specified. Deciding that will be the next step in the process.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556258/original/file-20231027-15-lpxxvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A small grey animal looking like a cross between a kangaroo and a rat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556258/original/file-20231027-15-lpxxvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556258/original/file-20231027-15-lpxxvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556258/original/file-20231027-15-lpxxvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556258/original/file-20231027-15-lpxxvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556258/original/file-20231027-15-lpxxvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556258/original/file-20231027-15-lpxxvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556258/original/file-20231027-15-lpxxvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Understanding species taxonomy is crucial for their management. Knowing the taxonomy of marsupials like this bettong helps identify what needs conserving and where.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bettong-australias-smallest-kangaroo-glances-curiously-1658557687">Tyrrannoid/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Taxonomists propose hypotheses, not facts</h2>
<p>Why is this important? Many may not realise that when a taxonomist names a new species description, they are proposing a scientific hypothesis, not presenting an <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-44966-1">objective scientific fact</a>.</p>
<p>Other taxonomists then look at the evidence provided in the description and decide whether they agree. If people making species lists judge that there is agreement about a hypothesis, the new species goes on their list. </p>
<p>Only after a species is listed can it be protected, studied, eradicated, ignored or whatever else governments decide is appropriate. Scientists and conservation advocates also need species to be listed before they can include them in their work. Until listed, the species remains, for all practical purposes, invisible. </p>
<p>However, not all lists are equally trusted. Very rarely taxonomists do go rogue. One notorious taxonomist has been blacklisted for “<a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/133/3/645/6240088?login=falsename">taxonomic vandalism</a>”. He published all sorts of new names – some even commemorated his dog – with little justification. If accepted, his field (herpetology) would have been thrown into chaos.</p>
<p>The work of rogue taxonomists wastes everyone’s time and money. In one instance, poor taxonomy has even killed people – an antivenom labelled with the wrong name for a snake was distributed in Africa and Papua New Guinea <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18359053/">with disastrous results</a>.</p>
<p>Even without rogue taxonomists, there is an enormous problem with so-called synonyms – different people giving different names for the same species. Some species have tens of scientific names, not to mention misspellings. </p>
<p>This leaves users uncertain what name to use. Sometimes they use different names but mean the same species; sometimes the same names but mean different species. The only way to clarify this confusion is by having a working master list of species names linked to the scientific literature.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556257/original/file-20231027-17-f2a7fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A colourful coral reef with schools of fish and a turtle swimming above it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556257/original/file-20231027-17-f2a7fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556257/original/file-20231027-17-f2a7fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556257/original/file-20231027-17-f2a7fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556257/original/file-20231027-17-f2a7fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556257/original/file-20231027-17-f2a7fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556257/original/file-20231027-17-f2a7fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556257/original/file-20231027-17-f2a7fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Biodiversity is an essential feature of our planet and its ecosystems – but to understand it, we also need to understand the individual species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tropical-fish-turtle-red-sea-egypt-211006552">Vlad61/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Now what?</h2>
<p>The newly released survey shows taxonomists and users of taxonomy have achieved an agreement that good lists need good governance. Species lists need to reflect the best science, independent of outside influence. They need dispute resolution processes. And they need involvement and agreement from the taxonomic community on their contents.</p>
<p>Governance of science does not work unless a large majority of scientists agree with the rules, because participation is voluntary. There’s no such thing as science police. </p>
<p>Agreement and compliance is best achieved if scientists themselves are involved in the creation of the rules. This helps to increase buy-in among the community of peers to make sure rules are kept.</p>
<p>Based on the survey results, <a href="https://www.catalogueoflife.org/">the Catalogue of Life</a> – the group that has the most comprehensive global species list to date, and the one we’re involved in – is piloting ways of measuring the quality of the lists that make up their catalogue. </p>
<p>These are being trialled first with the creators of lists, everything from viruses to mammals. Then, they will be tested with the taxonomic community at large for further feedback.</p>
<p>Good taxonomy is far more valuable than people realise. One recent study in Australia found that, for every dollar spent on taxonomy, <a href="https://www.science.org.au/support/analysis/decadal-plans-science/discovering-biodiversity-decadal-plan-taxonomy#report2021">the economy gained A$35</a>. The value of taxonomy globally is likely to be colossal.</p>
<p>But the value will be higher still if everyone the world over is able to use the same list of species.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-re-counted-australias-extinct-species-and-the-result-is-devastating-127611">Scientists re-counted Australia's extinct species, and the result is devastating</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216006/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Garnett receives funding from the Australian Research Council for a project on taxonomic list governance and coordinates the Catalogue of Life Working Group on Taxonomic Lists. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aaron M. Lien is a member of the Catalogue of Life Working Group on Taxonomic Lists and the Global Species List Working Group. </span></em></p>Only after a species is identified and listed by taxonomists can it be protected. Yet we still don’t have one globally agreed-upon list of every species. A new 74-nation survey points to the solution.Stephen Garnett, Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Charles Darwin UniversityAaron M. Lien, Assistant Professor of Ecology, Management and Restoration of Rangelands, University of ArizonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2163512023-10-29T19:11:42Z2023-10-29T19:11:42ZWe discovered three new species of marsupial. Unfortunately, they’re already extinct<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555979/original/file-20231026-21-r47n91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C1%2C994%2C664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Crest-tailed mulgara (_Dasycercus cristicauda_) from the Simpson Desert, Queensland.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crest-tail_Mulgara.jpg">Bobby Tamayo / Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia is famous for its diverse and unique marsupials, and infamous for its <a href="https://theconversation.com/gut-wrenching-and-infuriating-why-australia-is-the-world-leader-in-mammal-extinctions-and-what-to-do-about-it-192173">world-leading rate of mammal extinctions</a>.</p>
<p>In our latest research, we have added new names to the list of Australian marsupials – and at the same time, new entries to the grim catalogue of species driven to extinction since European colonisation.</p>
<p>Our new study, published in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2023.2262083">Alcheringa</a>, has identified three previously unknown species of small carnivores called mulgaras, which live in the dry country of Australia’s west and north. </p>
<p>The species were “hiding” in museums, among specimens collected since the 19th century, and none of them survive today.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1513329781395574784"}"></div></p>
<h2>A deeper look at mulgaras</h2>
<p><a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/mammals/mulgara/">Mulgaras</a> (<em>Dasycercus</em>) are small, ferocious carnivorous marsupials that are so well adapted to their arid habitats that they <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/bi/pdf/bi9620683">do not need to drink water</a>. They play important roles in maintaining the health of their environments by controlling populations of insects and small rodents, and turning over desert soils through foraging. </p>
<p>Until recently, it was thought there were only two species of mulgara, the brush-tailed mulgara (<em>D. blythi</em>) and the crest-tailed mulgara (<em>D. cristicauda</em>). </p>
<p>Earlier efforts to classify mulgaras focused on external differences, such as the hair on their tail or the number of nipples. Our new work looked deeper, through an analysis of skulls and teeth.</p>
<p>Mammals use their teeth for many things, most obviously as offensive or defensive weapons, for eating, and for manipulating the environment. If the shape of a species’ teeth changes in some way, this could indicate an adaptation to a change in diet or environment. With enough adaptions and changes, a new species emerges.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-biological-classification-10691">Explainer: what is biological classification? </a>
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<p>In our investigation, we examined “<a href="https://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/subfossils">subfossils</a>” – skeletal remains that are not old enough to be true fossils – from sites around Australia where mulgaras are no longer found. </p>
<p>We trawled through animal trapping and subfossil collections made since the 19th century in museums across every mainland state and territory in Australia, and even the Natural History Museum of London. Subfossil specimens from the Nullarbor Plain, the Great Victoria Desert, and the northern Swan Coastal Plain were of particular interest as they had not been attributed to a particular species until now. </p>
<p>We also mounted an expedition to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nullarbors-rich-cultural-history-vast-cave-systems-and-unique-animals-all-deserve-better-protection-212262">the caves of the Nullarbor Plain</a> to collect additional mulgara skulls. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A photo of a man wearing a helmet with a torch, crouching in a dark cave and inspecting the ground." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555968/original/file-20231026-28-qkd5sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555968/original/file-20231026-28-qkd5sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555968/original/file-20231026-28-qkd5sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555968/original/file-20231026-28-qkd5sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555968/original/file-20231026-28-qkd5sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555968/original/file-20231026-28-qkd5sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555968/original/file-20231026-28-qkd5sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jake Newman-Martin collecting subfossils in a Nullarbor cave.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kenny Travouillon</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Not one, two or three species, but six</h2>
<p>Once we had assembled our collection, we measured the skulls and teeth of the mulgaras to find differences in their overall shape and size. The particular diets and habitats of particular species are expected to leave distinct patterns in their skulls and teeth.</p>
<p>We found differences in the skulls and teeth of mulgaras that completely revised our understanding of their diversity and recent history. Our most remarkable discoveries were found in subfossil deposits that had previously not been classified.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555971/original/file-20231026-17-v5txix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Skulls of the six identified species are shown from above, the side and below" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555971/original/file-20231026-17-v5txix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555971/original/file-20231026-17-v5txix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555971/original/file-20231026-17-v5txix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555971/original/file-20231026-17-v5txix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555971/original/file-20231026-17-v5txix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555971/original/file-20231026-17-v5txix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555971/original/file-20231026-17-v5txix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Skulls of each of the mulgara species identified; A - <em>D. hillieri</em>, B - <em>D. woolleyae</em>, C - <em>D. blythi</em>, D - <em>D. archeri</em>, E - <em>D. cristicauda</em>, and F - <em>D. marlowi</em>. Specimens are shown in dorsal (top row), ventral (middle row), and lateral (bottom row) views. All specimens shown are male.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2023.2262083">Newman-Martin et al. / Alcheringa</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Previously, researchers disagreed about whether there are one, two, or even three species of mulgara. We found a total of <em>six</em> species, living in different habitats across central and western Australia. Two of these were already accepted to exist, another had been proposed in the past but dismissed, and three were entirely new. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555972/original/file-20231026-32800-166yms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of Australia dotted with locations across the west and north where different specimens were found." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555972/original/file-20231026-32800-166yms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555972/original/file-20231026-32800-166yms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555972/original/file-20231026-32800-166yms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555972/original/file-20231026-32800-166yms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555972/original/file-20231026-32800-166yms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555972/original/file-20231026-32800-166yms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555972/original/file-20231026-32800-166yms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map of the geographic distribution of mulgara specimens examined in this study.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2023.2262083">Newman-Martin et al. / Alcheringa</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also found that some of the external features previously proposed for identifying species of mulgara were actually shared by multiple species. </p>
<p>For instance, the brush-tailed mulgara (<em>D. blythi</em>) and the crest-tailed mulgara (<em>D. cristicauda</em>) were separated based on the shape of the hairs on the end of their tails. However, it now seems that four of the six mulgara species have crested tails, while the other two have brush tails.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Photos showing preserved pelts of five of the examined mulgara species." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555976/original/file-20231026-21-8b1udg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555976/original/file-20231026-21-8b1udg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555976/original/file-20231026-21-8b1udg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555976/original/file-20231026-21-8b1udg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555976/original/file-20231026-21-8b1udg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555976/original/file-20231026-21-8b1udg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555976/original/file-20231026-21-8b1udg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dorsal views of the preserved skins of five of the examined mulgara species. A - <em>D. hillieri</em>, B - <em>D. archeri</em>, C - <em>D. woolleyae</em>, D - <em>D. blythi</em>, and E - <em>D. marlowi</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2023.2262083">Newman-Martin et al. / Alcheringa</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Just as you cannot judge a book by its cover, you cannot judge the importance of a mulgara by its size, or its taxonomy by its tail!</p>
<h2>Four modern extinctions</h2>
<p>Our research is not all good news. Of the six mulgara species, we determined that four are already extinct, likely as a result of the introduction of foxes and cats to Australia. </p>
<p>The extinction of these mulgara species may represent the first extinction in modern Australia within the broader family of Dasyurid marsupials, which also includes quolls and Tasmanian devils.</p>
<p>These newly identified mulgara disappeared with even less recognition than the now infamous extinction of their marsupial relative the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/extinct-but-not-gone-the-thylacine-continues-to-fascinate-us-201865">Extinct but not gone – the thylacine continues to fascinate us</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These historical extinctions and lack of awareness exemplify the current ecological crisis facing Australian mammals.</p>
<p>Prior to our research, it was known that mulgaras are threatened and their population and distribution across Australia has decreased. </p>
<p>Our research shows these declines are far greater than we thought. It also shows the importance of using subfossil records to understand the relatively recent history of marsupials for conservation. To protect Australia’s ecosystems, we will need to invest in much broader taxonomic understanding.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-research-funding-flows-to-big-and-beautiful-mammals-in-australia-56143">The good, the bad and the ugly: research funding flows to big and beautiful mammals in Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216351/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Milo Barham receives funding from the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Blyth, Jake Newman-Martin, Kenny Travouillon, and Natalie Warburton do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We found three previously unknown species of mulgaras hiding in museum collections – but all three have been driven to extinction since European colonisation of Australia.Jake Newman-Martin, PhD candidate, Curtin UniversityAlison Blyth, Senior Lecturer, Curtin UniversityKenny Travouillon, Curator of Mammals, Western Australian MuseumMilo Barham, Associate Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin UniversityNatalie Warburton, Associate Professor in Anatomy, Murdoch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2103862023-08-15T01:04:54Z2023-08-15T01:04:54ZTwo new Australian mammal species just dropped – and they are very small<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540949/original/file-20230803-17-1x5uk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C5%2C3378%2C2258&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Linette Umbrello</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You probably know about the Tasmanian devil. You might even know about its smaller, less-famous relative, the spotted-tailed quoll.</p>
<p>But these are far from the only meat-eating marsupials. Australia is home to a suite of other carnivorous and insectivorous pouched mammals as well, some of them the size of a mouse or smaller. </p>
<p>Tiniest of all are the planigales, some of which weigh less than a teaspoonful of water. <a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-5-of-australias-tiniest-mammals-who-tread-a-tightrope-between-life-and-death-every-night-159239">Despite their size</a>, these fierce predators often take on prey as big as themselves.</p>
<p>To date, there are four known species of planigale found across Australia. We have recently discovered <a href="https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5330.1.1">another two species</a>, both inhabitants of the Pilbara region of northwest Western Australia: the orange-headed Pilbara planigale (<em>Planigale kendricki</em>) and the cracking-clay Pilbara planigale (<em>P. tealei</em>).</p>
<h2>How many kinds of planigale are there?</h2>
<p>The name planigale translates to “flat weasel”, an allusion to their extremely flat heads, which allow them to shelter in small cracks in rocks and clay soils. Planigales are among Australia’s smallest mammals, with some weighing an average of 4–6 grams (and measuring around 11cm in length), and other species a bit larger at 8–17 grams (and 13cm long).</p>
<p>Scientific studies from the late 1970s onward using body-shape and DNA data have suggested there are many more planigale species than we think.</p>
<p>We put these theories to the test, and found that planigales in the Pilbara display unique body shapes and are genetically unrelated to any of the four known planigale species. </p>
<h2>Why have these species only been described now?</h2>
<p>The process of describing these two new species was actually started more than 20 years ago, by scientists who were working at the Western Australian Museum at the time. </p>
<p>Their work began after ecologists conducting surveys for developing mines in the Pilbara were capturing planigales that didn’t really fit the descriptions of the known species. For want of a better option, they were still usually identified as either the common planigale (<em>P. maculata</em>) or the long-tailed planigale (<em>P. ingrami</em>). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-hundreds-of-mammal-species-we-want-to-find-them-all-before-theyre-gone-185495">Australia has hundreds of mammal species. We want to find them all – before they're gone</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Scientists led by taxonomist Ken Aplin began examining specimens held in the WA Museum and sequencing their DNA. These studies helped to confirm the discovery of two new species. </p>
<p>Sadly, Ken fell ill and passed away in 2019. This is where we stepped in. </p>
<p>Through support from the <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/science-research/abrs">Australian Biological Resources Study</a> and the Queensland University of Technology we were able to finish off Ken’s species descriptions and submit the research for publication. This is a crucial step in taxonomy – the species description has to be published before the new name can be considered official.</p>
<h2>What do we know about the new species?</h2>
<p>Both new species occur in the Pilbara and surrounding areas. The orange-headed Pilbara planigale is the larger of the two, weighing an average of 7g (up to 12g for large males) with a longer, pointier snout and bright orange colouring on the head. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540948/original/file-20230803-19-smi94r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A small brown mouse-like marsupial sitting among reddish soil." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540948/original/file-20230803-19-smi94r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540948/original/file-20230803-19-smi94r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540948/original/file-20230803-19-smi94r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540948/original/file-20230803-19-smi94r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540948/original/file-20230803-19-smi94r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540948/original/file-20230803-19-smi94r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540948/original/file-20230803-19-smi94r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The cracking-clay Pilbara planigale (<em>P. tealei</em>) has only been found on cracking-clay soils.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Linette Umbrello</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The cracking-clay Pilbara planigale is much smaller, averaging just 4g with darker colouration and a shorter face. It has only been found on cracking clay soils, hence its name. </p>
<p>The orange-headed Pilbara planigale has been found on rocky and sandy soils as well, but both species require a dense cover of native grasses to persist. Both species actively forage during the night, while taking shelter during the day.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-140-year-old-tassie-tiger-brain-sample-survived-two-world-wars-and-made-it-to-our-lab-heres-what-we-found-210634">A 140-year-old Tassie tiger brain sample survived two world wars and made it to our lab. Here's what we found</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This means the two widespread species, the common planigale and the long-tailed planigale, do not occur in the Pilbara or on neighbouring Barrow Island, as was previously thought. </p>
<p>There is still a lot more work for us to do as there remain two “species complexes” of planigales. These are groups where genetic data suggests a species is comprised of multiple different forms. </p>
<p>We’ll be following up on this with more analysis to define more of Australia’s tiniest mammals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210386/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Linette Umbrello receives funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study program and the Queensland University of Technology. Linette is a Research Associate at the Western Australian Museum.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew M. Baker receives funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study Program. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kenny Travouillon receives funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study Program, and is an adjunct at Curtin University.</span></em></p>The tiny, mouse-like planigales are some of the smallest marsupials around – and there are two more species of them than anybody realised.Linette Umbrello, Postdoctoral research associate, Queensland University of TechnologyAndrew M. Baker, Academic in Ecology and Environmental Science, Queensland University of TechnologyKenny Travouillon, Curator of Mammals, Western Australian MuseumLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1950932023-01-15T19:00:46Z2023-01-15T19:00:46ZMeet te mokomoko a Tohu: a new species of New Zealand gecko hidden in plain sight<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497412/original/file-20221125-24-kbsopo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Te mokomoko a Tohu – Aotearoa New Zealand's newest species of gecko</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nick Harker/All rights reserved</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Aotearoa New Zealand is home to an incredible diversity of lizards (mokomoko) – more than 120 species are identified, and counting. </p>
<p>Elusive species are being (re)discovered in cracks and crevices in remote areas, while geneticists are using DNA to untangle hidden diversity in widespread populations.</p>
<p>We’ve known for a long time that <em>Hoplodactylus</em> geckos living on rocky islands in the Cook Strait were a little different from their northern counterparts. They are smaller, have different patterns and possess unique DNA fingerprints – all indicating a new species. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two lizards: te mokomoko a Tohu (left) and Duvaucel's gecko (right)." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497409/original/file-20221125-14773-v31cvo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497409/original/file-20221125-14773-v31cvo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497409/original/file-20221125-14773-v31cvo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497409/original/file-20221125-14773-v31cvo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497409/original/file-20221125-14773-v31cvo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497409/original/file-20221125-14773-v31cvo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497409/original/file-20221125-14773-v31cvo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Spot the difference: te mokomoko a Tohu (left) and Duvaucel’s gecko (right).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nick Harker/All Rights Reserved</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The arrival of rats, coupled with the burning of native forests centuries ago, complicated this taxonomic task by driving geographically intermediate mainland populations to extinction. With those crucial puzzle pieces missing, it was unclear how significant the observed differences between northern and southern populations were.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until we used new methods of analysing ancient DNA on those extinct populations that we realised northern and southern <em>Hoplodactylus</em> geckos were quite different indeed – they had been separated for over five million years. Our <a href="https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5228.3.3">new research</a> describes these populations as different species.</p>
<h2>Mistaken identity</h2>
<p>Before now, all living <em>Hoplodactylus</em> populations were known as Duvaucel’s gecko, named after French naturalist Alfred Duvaucel. </p>
<p>In the early 19th century, Duvaucel travelled through India, where he acquired various plants and animals to ship back to Paris. Among these samples was a jar of pickled geckos of a species that was later named <em>Hoplodactylus duvaucelii</em> in his honour.</p>
<p>Scientists later realised the assumption that Duvaucel’s geckos lived in Bengal, India, was incorrect, as no similar geckos were ever found in Asia. <em>Hoplodactylus</em> geckos are only found in Aotearoa and, at up to 30 cm in length, they are our largest living lizards. </p>
<h2>What’s in a name?</h2>
<p>Taxonomy is the study of how different lineages relate to one another. Funding and conservation efforts are often dependent on taxonomic recognition. Robust taxonomic work is critical to conservation.</p>
<p>Once published, scientific names can be impossible to change. This is to limit petty and confusing changes. However, this practice can also “lock in” names that honour historical figures who have fallen from social grace, as well as misspellings and names of little significance to the communities where the species lives. </p>
<p>We wanted to ensure our newly identified species of gecko was appropriately named. We approached Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui, mana whenua of Ngāwhatu-Kai-ponu (the Brothers Islands) in Cook Strait, home to the largest surviving population of the “new” gecko. They proposed the te reo Māori common name te mokomoko a Tohu (scientific name: <em>Hoplodactylus tohu</em>). </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Impage of Tohu Kākahi, the person behind the gecko's te reo name." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498557/original/file-20221201-16864-syova6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498557/original/file-20221201-16864-syova6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498557/original/file-20221201-16864-syova6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498557/original/file-20221201-16864-syova6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498557/original/file-20221201-16864-syova6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498557/original/file-20221201-16864-syova6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498557/original/file-20221201-16864-syova6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tohu Kākahi.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">New Zealand History</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tohu Kākahi, with whakapapa (genealogical) ties to Te Ātiawa, was a pacifist who was taken prisoner by British forces during the invasion of Parihaka in Taranaki.
He was transported to Whakatū (Nelson) and then passed the Brothers Islands while being taken south along the prehistoric range of te mokomoko a Tohu to Ōtepoti (Dunedin). This legacy is now immortalised in the name of this special gecko.</p>
<p>The North Island <em>Hoplodactylus</em> populations retain the name Duvaucel’s gecko following International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (<a href="https://www.iczn.org/the-code/the-code-online/">ICZN</a>) rules.</p>
<p>As a globally applied system, scientific naming conventions sometimes conflict with regional perspectives and values: non-Roman characters (such as macrons) cannot be used, for example, and it may seem that long-standing traditional names are being replaced. Formulation of most new scientific names does not include consultation with Indigenous communities. Women, people of colour and Indigenous people remain <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rspb.2021.2708">underrepresented</a> in species names or as authors of new species.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-method-of-extracting-ancient-dna-from-tiny-bones-reveals-the-hidden-evolutionary-history-of-new-zealand-geckos-180327">A new method of extracting ancient DNA from tiny bones reveals the hidden evolutionary history of New Zealand geckos</a>
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<p>Currently, the legality and ethics of how to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0028825X.2020.1861031">select a taxonomic name</a>, <a href="https://www.wai262.nz/">who chooses it</a> and what root languages are used are subject to <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/change-species-names-to-honor-indigenous-peoples-not-colonizers-researchers-say/">heated debate</a>. As yet, there are no widely supported solutions.</p>
<p>Our naming of te mokomoko a Tohu is just one example of how researchers might approach the naming of new species. Taxonomic and Indigenous names and perspectives constitute different systems, yet those systems are not inherently incompatible. How names are formed and used can be very important, and convey respect to these species and to the communities for whom they are a taonga (treasure).</p>
<h2>How to save a species</h2>
<p>The few remaining populations in Cook Strait are the last survivers of te mokomoko a Tohu, making them critically endangered. While these islands are currently safe havens, climate change, scrub fires and potential predator incursion pose ongoing risks. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Aerial view of Ngāwhatu-Kai-ponu (Brothers Islands)" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498558/original/file-20221201-16851-zkz6re.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498558/original/file-20221201-16851-zkz6re.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498558/original/file-20221201-16851-zkz6re.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498558/original/file-20221201-16851-zkz6re.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498558/original/file-20221201-16851-zkz6re.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498558/original/file-20221201-16851-zkz6re.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498558/original/file-20221201-16851-zkz6re.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ngāwhatu-Kai-ponu (Brothers Islands) are an oasis for te mokomoko a Tohu.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Maritime New Zealand</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To safeguard their survival, translocation to mainland ecosanctuaries (such as <a href="https://orokonui.nz/">Orokonui Ecosanctuary</a> in Otago) could be used to establish “insurance” populations in regions they once lived. If we don’t act soon, this species may disappear.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/taxonomy-the-science-of-naming-things-is-under-threat-106691">Taxonomy, the science of naming things, is under threat</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We cannot hope to stop extinctions if we don’t know what’s out there. This is why taxonomy, which is critically underfunded in Aotearoa, is so important. Our research has merely scratched the surface of understanding the diversity in New Zealand’s lizard fauna.</p>
<p>We desperately need scientific methods to inform evidence-based conservation management so we can be effective kaitiaki (guardians) of taonga species. Who knows what we will discover as we delve into the biological heritage of other species.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195093/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new gecko species in New Zealand was named te mokomoko a Tohu in consultation with a local Māori tribe. This could be a good example for how taxonomists might approach the naming of new species.Lachie Scarsbrook, DPhil Student, University of OxfordKerry Walton, Researcher, University of OtagoNic Rawlence, Senior Lecturer in Ancient DNA, University of OtagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1854952022-10-13T23:07:13Z2022-10-13T23:07:13ZAustralia has hundreds of mammal species. We want to find them all – before they’re gone<p>Life on Earth is undergoing a period of <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.1400253">mass extinction</a> – the sixth in history, and the first caused by humans. As species disappear at an alarming rate, we have learned that we understand only a fraction of Earth’s variety of life.</p>
<p>The task of describing this biodiversity before it is lost relies on the discipline of taxonomy, the scientific practice of classifying and naming organisms.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-the-science-of-tax-and-five-other-things-you-should-know-about-taxonomy-78926">It's not the science of tax, and five other things you should know about taxonomy</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>But taxonomy is far more than just naming things. It underpins an enormous range of human activities, including biology (via health and conservation management), the economy (via agriculture and biosecurity) and many other areas of endeavour.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, taxonomy is suffering globally from <a href="https://www.mapress.com/mt/article/view/megataxa.1.1.10/0">reduced support and funding</a>. This is an area of ongoing concern recognised in Australia’s <a href="https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-07/soe2021-overview.pdf">State of the Environment report</a> released in July this year. The workforce of taxonomists has <a href="https://theconversation.com/taxonomy-the-science-of-naming-things-is-under-threat-106691">declined</a> when it is needed most.</p>
<h2>Taxonomists unite</h2>
<p>So, what is being done?</p>
<p>Communities of taxonomists in Australia and <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13127-021-00516-w.pdf">the world over</a> are making a concerted effort to face the challenge of naming and understanding Earth’s unknown species.</p>
<p>Australian taxonomists are garnering support to achieve the goal of documenting all Australian species by 2050. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/about-500-000-australian-species-are-undiscovered-and-scientists-are-on-a-25-year-mission-to-finish-the-job-161793">About 500,000 Australian species are undiscovered – and scientists are on a 25-year mission to finish the job</a>
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<p>This ambitious plan requires not just government and other external support but also co-ordination of our taxonomists. Success will mean bringing together those who study lesser-known groups, such as insects, spiders and fungi, with those who work on more familiar groups such as vertebrates, including mammals.</p>
<h2>Mammals under threat</h2>
<p>Mammals are perhaps the best known and cherished group of species on the planet. Even so, <a href="https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-undiscovered-mammal-species-may-be-hidden-in-plain-sight-new-research-finds-179988">many mammals remain undiscovered</a>.</p>
<p>Mammals are also among the most threatened animal groups globally. And because it has contributed the most species to the list, Australia has the <a href="https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S000632071930895X?token=F81E17FDA96B1A624E4C874FE780B70CC8C5A2E8E71BC244E01B82C2230FF823AED2728DBDF0475A2EAC276322B9CBB6&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20220601075615">worst</a> modern mammal extinction record of any country, along with one of the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.1417301112">most distinctive mammal faunas</a> on Earth: about 90% of our terrestrial mammals live nowhere else. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/extinction-crisis-native-mammals-are-disappearing-in-northern-australia-but-few-people-are-watching-178313">Extinction crisis: native mammals are disappearing in Northern Australia, but few people are watching</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>More than 100 species that lived only in Australia are <a href="https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S000632071930895X?token=F81E17FDA96B1A624E4C874FE780B70CC8C5A2E8E71BC244E01B82C2230FF823AED2728DBDF0475A2EAC276322B9CBB6&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20220601075615">recognised as having become extinct since 1788</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475953/original/file-20220725-16-v589e8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475953/original/file-20220725-16-v589e8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475953/original/file-20220725-16-v589e8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475953/original/file-20220725-16-v589e8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475953/original/file-20220725-16-v589e8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475953/original/file-20220725-16-v589e8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475953/original/file-20220725-16-v589e8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475953/original/file-20220725-16-v589e8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Bramble Cay melomys is believed to be the first mammal made extinct at least in part by human-caused climate change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/melomys-rubicola/">Ian Bell / EHP / Queensland</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicthreatenedlist.pl#mammals_extinct">Thirty-nine of these extinct species are mammals</a>. Most recently, this includes the Bramble Cay melomys (<em>Melomys rubicola</em>), a native rodent declared extinct in 2016, and the first known mammal extinction due at least in part to <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/pc/pdf/pcv23n1_ed#:%7E:text=The%20Bramble%20Cay%20melomys%20(Melomys,2016)">human-induced climate change</a>.</p>
<p>In the face of an avalanche of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature22900.pdf">human-mediated threats</a>, including climate warming, land-use change and introduction of pest species, are the host of hidden mammal species destined for extinction before they are even discovered, described and known to humanity?</p>
<h2>The Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium</h2>
<p>To help address this existential threat, and in response to the call to arms within Australian taxonomy, we have formed the <a href="https://australianmammals.org.au/publications/amtc-species-list">Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium</a> (AMTC), a group affiliated with the <a href="https://australianmammals.org.au/">Australian Mammal Society</a>.</p>
<p>The consortium aims to promote stability and consensus, provide advice and guidance, and promote the cause and importance of Australasian mammal taxonomy to both scientists and the broader public.</p>
<p>We have recently introduced the aspirations and aims of our group in a <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/AM/pdf/AM22016">review paper</a> and published our first list of species, covering <a href="https://australianmammals.org.au/publications/amtc-species-list">Australian mammals</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477343/original/file-20220803-16-6ry8h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477343/original/file-20220803-16-6ry8h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477343/original/file-20220803-16-6ry8h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477343/original/file-20220803-16-6ry8h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477343/original/file-20220803-16-6ry8h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477343/original/file-20220803-16-6ry8h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477343/original/file-20220803-16-6ry8h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477343/original/file-20220803-16-6ry8h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Not just koalas and kangaroos: the Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium currently recognises 404 species of Australian mammals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/black-flyingfox-pteropus-alecto-hanging-tree-87555337">EcoPrint / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We recognise 404 Australian mammal species, including 2 monotremes (platypus and short-beaked echidna), 175 marsupials (such as the Tasmanian devil, the numbat, the koala, kangaroos and so on) and 227 placentals (such as rodents, bats, seals, whales and dolphins). The list includes 11 species, and numerous subspecies, that have only been discovered and formally named in the past decade. </p>
<p>A suite of other recognised variable forms, new species-in-waiting, need study and description.</p>
<p>The Australian mammal species list will be updated annually to incorporate new species names. In the future, working with research groups throughout the region, we will produce lists of mammal species found elsewhere in Australasia.</p>
<h2>A new launching point</h2>
<p>We hope this will standardise the use of mammal species names, highlight groups where further taxonomic work is required, and provide a launching point for this work.</p>
<p>In the past decade, rapid DNA sequencing has <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-earths-biodiversity-could-be-much-greater-than-we-thought-61665">revolutionised our ability to understand biodiversity</a>, even while species loss to extinction at the hands of humanity is at an all-time high. This juxtaposition makes it both an exciting and <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-the-science-of-tax-and-five-other-things-you-should-know-about-taxonomy-78926">critically important time for taxonomy</a>.</p>
<p>We hope the Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium can do its part to help grow and focus an interest to better understand and conserve our precious Australasian mammals before it is too late.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The authors comprise a steering committee representing the broader Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium working group, which includes more than 30 members.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185495/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Baker receives funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study program. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diana Fisher has received funding including species discovery from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Greta Frankham receives funding from the Australian Museum Foundation, NSW Department of Planning and Environment, NSW Department of Transport</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kenny Travouillon receives funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Linette Umbrello receives funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Eldridge receives funding from the Australian Research Council, NSW Department of Planning and Environment and the Australian Museum Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally Potter receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Jackson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new list of 404 Australian mammal species is a crucial conservation step in the face of the ongoing extinction crisis.Andrew M. Baker, Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Environmental Science, Queensland University of TechnologyDiana Fisher, Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences, The University of QueenslandGreta Frankham, Scientific Officer, Australian Centre for Wildlife Genomics, Australian MuseumKenny Travouillon, Curator of Mammals, Western Australian MuseumLinette Umbrello, Research Associate – Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian MuseumMark Eldridge, Principal Research Scientist, Terrestrial Vertebrates, Australian MuseumSally Potter, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie UniversityStephen Jackson, Associate Director, Collection Enhancement Project, Australian MuseumLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1805452022-04-07T18:01:21Z2022-04-07T18:01:21ZResearchers identified over 5,500 new viruses in the ocean, including a missing link in viral evolution<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456226/original/file-20220404-30985-wxhz3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1732%2C1732&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are even more types of viruses in the ocean than researchers once thought.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/virus-background-image-royalty-free-illustration/1017333858">newannyart/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456726/original/file-20220406-23-4w4h4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="From species up to kingdom, a depiction of taxonomic rank." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456726/original/file-20220406-23-4w4h4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456726/original/file-20220406-23-4w4h4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456726/original/file-20220406-23-4w4h4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456726/original/file-20220406-23-4w4h4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456726/original/file-20220406-23-4w4h4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456726/original/file-20220406-23-4w4h4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456726/original/file-20220406-23-4w4h4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Diagram of the biological classification system, showing phylum is a broad grouping.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/classification-system-vector-illustration-royalty-free-illustration/1185111143">VectorMine/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An analysis of the genetic material in the ocean has identified thousands of previously unknown RNA viruses and doubled the number of phyla, or biological groups, of viruses thought to exist, according to a new study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-q2s8nYAAAAJ&hl=en">our</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SO8JQsgAAAAJ&hl=en">team</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GNLkdsIAAAAJ&hl=en">of</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=rYg4wbcAAAAJ&hl=en">researchers</a> has published in the journal <a href="https://science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm5847">Science</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2FB978-0-12-803109-4.00010-6">RNA viruses</a> are best known for the <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-coronaviruses-cause-infection-from-colds-to-deadly-pneumonia1/">diseases</a> they cause in people, ranging from the common cold to COVID-19. They also infect <a href="https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/disandpath/viral/pdlessons/Pages/TobaccoMosaic.aspx">plants</a> and <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1099%2Fvir.0.2008%2F002089-0">animals</a> important to people. </p>
<p>These viruses carry their genetic information in RNA, rather than DNA. RNA viruses <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000003">evolve at much quicker rates</a> than DNA viruses do. While scientists have cataloged <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.040">hundreds of thousands of DNA viruses</a> in their natural ecosystems, RNA viruses have been relatively unstudied.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456437/original/file-20220405-24-wjjhl1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Line drawing of marine RNA viruses" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456437/original/file-20220405-24-wjjhl1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456437/original/file-20220405-24-wjjhl1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456437/original/file-20220405-24-wjjhl1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456437/original/file-20220405-24-wjjhl1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456437/original/file-20220405-24-wjjhl1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456437/original/file-20220405-24-wjjhl1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456437/original/file-20220405-24-wjjhl1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There are more RNA viruses in the oceans than researchers previously thought.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Guillermo Domínguez Huerta</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unlike humans and other organisms composed of cells, however, viruses lack unique short stretches of DNA that could act as what researchers call a <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1073%2Fpnas.0800476105">genetic bar code</a>. Without this bar code, trying to distinguish different species of virus in the wild can be challenging. </p>
<p>To get around this limitation, we decided to identify the gene that codes for a <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3390%2Fv10020076">particular protein</a> that allows a virus to replicate its genetic material. It is the only protein that all RNA viruses share, because it plays an essential role in how they propagate themselves. Each RNA virus, however, has small differences in the gene that codes for the protein that can help distinguish one type of virus from another.</p>
<p>So we screened a global database of RNA sequences from plankton collected during the four-year <a href="https://fondationtaraocean.org/en/home/">Tara Oceans expeditions</a> global research project. Plankton are any aquatic organisms that are too small to swim against the current. They’re a vital part of ocean food webs and are common hosts for RNA viruses. Our screening ultimately identified over 44,000 genes that code for the virus protein.</p>
<p>Our next challenge, then, was to determine the evolutionary connections between these genes. The more similar two genes were, the more likely viruses with those genes were closely related. Because these sequences had evolved so long ago (possibly <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.4161%2Fmge.22797">predating the first cell</a>), the genetic signposts indicating where new viruses may have split off from a common ancestor had been lost to time. A form of artificial intelligence called machine learning, however, allowed us to systematically organize these sequences and detect differences more objectively than if the task were done manually. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456441/original/file-20220405-18-se1ghx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Swarm plot of the 5 phyla of RNA viruses" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456441/original/file-20220405-18-se1ghx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456441/original/file-20220405-18-se1ghx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456441/original/file-20220405-18-se1ghx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456441/original/file-20220405-18-se1ghx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456441/original/file-20220405-18-se1ghx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456441/original/file-20220405-18-se1ghx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456441/original/file-20220405-18-se1ghx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This diagram shows the five previously known phyla of RNA viruses automatically organized by our methods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm5847">Reprinted with permission from Zayed et al., Science Volume 376:156(2022).</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We identified a total of 5,504 new marine RNA viruses and doubled the number of known RNA virus phyla from five to 10. Mapping these new sequences geographically revealed that two of the new phyla were particularly abundant across vast oceanic regions, with regional preferences in either temperate and tropical waters (the <em>Taraviricota</em>, named after the Tara Oceans expeditions) or the Arctic Ocean (the <em>Arctiviricota</em>).</p>
<p>We believe that <em>Taraviricota</em> might be the missing link in the evolution of RNA viruses that researchers have long sought, connecting two different known branches of RNA viruses that diverged in how they replicate.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456438/original/file-20220405-19-uq5khy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="World map showing distribution and abundance of RNA virus phyla." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456438/original/file-20220405-19-uq5khy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456438/original/file-20220405-19-uq5khy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456438/original/file-20220405-19-uq5khy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456438/original/file-20220405-19-uq5khy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456438/original/file-20220405-19-uq5khy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456438/original/file-20220405-19-uq5khy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456438/original/file-20220405-19-uq5khy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This map shows the distribution of RNA viruses across the ocean. Wedge size is proportional to the average abundance of viruses present in that area, and wedge color indicates virus phyla.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm5847">Reprinted with permission from Zayed et al., Science Volume 376:156(2022).</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>These new sequences help scientists better understand not only the evolutionary history of RNA viruses but also the evolution of early life on Earth.</p>
<p>As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, RNA viruses can cause deadly diseases. But RNA viruses also play a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.02101.x">vital role in ecosystems</a> because they can infect a wide array of organisms, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1908291116">microbes</a> that influence environments and food webs at the chemical level.</p>
<p>Mapping out where in the world these RNA viruses live can help clarify how they affect the organisms driving many of the ecological processes that run our planet. Our study also provides improved tools that can help researchers catalog new viruses as genetic databases grow. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4GpD8CJefL4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Viruses do more than just cause disease.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Despite identifying so many new RNA viruses, it remains challenging to pinpoint what organisms they infect. Researchers are also currently <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/v14040702">limited to mostly fragments</a> of incomplete RNA virus genomes, partly because of their genetic complexity and technological limitations.</p>
<p>Our next steps would be to figure out what kinds of genes might be missing and how they changed over time. Uncovering these genes could help scientists better understand how these viruses work.</p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters?nl=science&source=inline-science-corona-important">Get The Conversation’s most important coronavirus headlines, weekly in a science newsletter</a></em>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180545/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Guillermo Dominguez Huerta receives funding from U.S. National Science Foundation (DBI# 2022070). He was also supported by a Ramon-Areces Foundation postdoctoral fellowship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ahmed Zayed receives funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (DBI# 2022070)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Wainaina receives funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (DBI# 2022070)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Sullivan received funding for this research from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.</span></em></p>Viruses do more than just cause disease – they also influence ecosystems and the processes that shape the planet. Tracing their evolution could help researchers better understand how viruses work.Guillermo Dominguez Huerta, Science Consultant in Microbiology, The Ohio State UniversityAhmed Zayed, Research Scientist in Microbiology, The Ohio State UniversityJames Wainaina, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Microbiology, The Ohio State UniversityMatthew Sullivan, Professor of Microbiology, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1799882022-03-28T19:15:24Z2022-03-28T19:15:24ZThousands of undiscovered mammal species may be hidden in plain sight, new research finds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454500/original/file-20220327-15-1aylgdj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2366%2C2171&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Taxonomy, or the study of classifying species, plays a key role in biodiversity conservation. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/malabar-giant-squirrel-in-a-tree-royalty-free-image/1367823891">Aarthi Arunkumar/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/taxonomy">Taxonomy</a>, the study of how living organisms relate to one another as species, has been around since the 1700s. Though scientists and philosophers have <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/species/">long debated</a> what makes a species a species, taxonomists treat each species as a <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/definition/species-312/">group of organisms</a> that share common biological characteristics. </p>
<p>Discovering and describing new species is essential to biology researchers and conservationists because they use species as a unit of analysis. Species are also economically important to agriculture, hunting and fishing, and have special legal status, such as under the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/law/endangered-species-act">U.S. Endangered Species Act</a>.</p>
<p>Despite this, scientists have been able to formally name and describe only an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syr080">estimated 10%</a> of species on the planet, based on discovery trends over the years.</p>
<p>This gap in knowledge is known as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054400">Linnean shortfall</a>. It remains unclear whether <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054400">poor research methodology</a>, disagreements on <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-44966-1">how to define a species</a>, or other factors are to blame for this gap.</p>
<p>We are scientists in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=s-8juSUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">evolutionary</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3NX7nXIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">biology</a>, and figuring out ways to better identify species is central to our research. Using genetic analysis and artificial intelligence, we were able to disentangle hidden species that have been lumped together in a single group and <a href="https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2103400119">predict where and what types</a> they might be. Our findings also pinpoint a potential cause for this shortfall in species identification: an underinvestment in the science of taxonomy.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dnfaiJJnzdE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Determining what makes a species can get complicated.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Hidden species remain to be discovered</h2>
<p>For <a href="https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2103400119">this study</a>, we chose to focus on mammals. Because of their relatively large size and importance to people as a source of food, companionship and entertainment, we predicted that it was more likely that a large proportion of mammalian species have been already been identified.</p>
<p>Our first task was to identify known species that might actually contain two or more species. To do this, we analyzed 1 million gene sequences from 4,300 named species, identifying clusters of sequences that showed high genetic diversity and fitting the data to an evolutionary model. </p>
<p>We found potentially hundreds of hidden species that were previously classified as a single group. This finding was expected, as it mirrors <a href="https://doi.org/10.1644/06-MAMM-F-038R2.1">results from previous studies</a>, albeit on a larger scale.</p>
<h2>Where and what are these hidden species?</h2>
<p>Once we identified the presence of these potentially hidden species, our second task was to determine what specific traits they have in common. To do this, we used a data science technique called <a href="https://www.section.io/engineering-education/introduction-to-random-forest-in-machine-learning/">random forest analysis</a>, a form of machine learning that draws information from a large number of different variables in order to make a prediction about a particular outcome. It’s similar to the <a href="https://netflixtechblog.com/netflix-recommendations-beyond-the-5-stars-part-2-d9b96aa399f5">technique that Netflix</a> uses to suggest shows you might be interested in watching.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cIbj0WuK41w?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Random forests is a machine learning algorithm that makes predictions using multiple decision trees.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In our case, we wanted to predict whether a known species contained hidden species. The predictor variables we used spanned environmental factors, such as the climate of common mammalian habitats, and species-specific factors, such as physical traits, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/species-range/">geographic range</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/life-history-evolution-68245673/">reproductive and survival patterns</a>. We also included research-based factors on the techniques scientists used to conduct their studies. In total, we collected some 3.8 million data points to build our model.</p>
<p>Based on our model, we found that three types of predictor variables stood out the most.</p>
<p>The first type comprised attributes of the species itself, such as body mass and geographic range. These results suggest that small mammals with relatively large ranges are more likely to have hidden species. This makes sense as, all things being equal, it is more difficult for scientists to recognize physical differences in smaller animals than larger ones. </p>
<p>The second type was climate – there are likely to be more hidden species in wet, warm areas with a large difference in day and night temperatures. This likely reflects the fact that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.34.012103.144032">tropical rainforests</a> tend to have very high levels of mammalian diversity.</p>
<p>The third type was research effort, including the geographic dispersion of samples in museum collections and the number of recent publications mentioning the scientific name of a known species. This implies that researchers are generally effective in identifying new mammals, as how much attention the scientific community has focused on a specific mammal predicts whether that creature is identified. This is supported by how the general characteristics we’ve identified match new mammalian species described over <a href="https://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/">the past 30 years</a>, as well as the fact that our model recognizes areas that scientists are already investigating for hidden species.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454337/original/file-20220325-25-5knlks.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Diagram showing the phylogenetic distribution of various mammals." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454337/original/file-20220325-25-5knlks.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454337/original/file-20220325-25-5knlks.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454337/original/file-20220325-25-5knlks.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454337/original/file-20220325-25-5knlks.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454337/original/file-20220325-25-5knlks.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=822&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454337/original/file-20220325-25-5knlks.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=822&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454337/original/file-20220325-25-5knlks.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=822&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This diagram shows an estimate of the number of hidden species within known mammals. The relative size of the shadow surrounding each silhouette represents the ratio of predicted total existing species to known species. Striped silhouettes represent mammals with conflicting results excluded from the study.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2103400119">Danielle Parsons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Unknown species face extinction</h2>
<p>At a time when Earth is facing its <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1400253">greatest extinction crisis</a> since an asteroid killed off the dinosaurs, we believe that identifying and describing the many undiscovered species on Earth is crucial to aiding the preservation of its biodiversity.</p>
<p>Even though our study still found a large number of mammals waiting to be discovered, mammalian diversity is already relatively well captured compared with that of other species. We found that roughly 80% of existing mammal species have already been described, a proportion far higher than in nonmammal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127">groups with even higher diversity</a> such as beetles or mites. </p>
<p>Discovering and describing new species, as with all scientific research, takes a village. Natural history museums are largely responsible for collecting the raw data we analyzed, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/">genetic</a> and <a href="https://www.gbif.org/">biodiversity</a> databases provided the infrastructure to make it accessible to us. A culture of <a href="https://openscience.org/about-openscience/">information sharing</a> among peers and <a href="https://www.osc.edu/">large computer networks</a> supported the thousands of hours of computation time we needed. Our work was made possible only by ongoing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/417017a">investments in taxonomic research</a>.</p>
<p>Biodiversity scientists are racing to better understand the processes that create and maintain biodiversity while in the midst of the planet’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1400253">sixth mass extinction</a>, one that is entirely caused by human actions. Taxonomists face the challenge of describing the species around us before they go extinct. As our findings suggest, there is still a long way to go.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179988/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bryan Carstens receives funding from the National Science Foundation (DBI 1661029 & DBI 1910623) and from the Ohio Supercomputer Center (PAA1174). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Danielle Parsons does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Roughly 90% of species on Earth are believed to be undiscovered. Whether researchers will be able to identify them before they go extinct is unclear.Danielle Parsons, PhD Candidate in Evolutionary Biology, The Ohio State UniversityBryan Carstens, Professor of Evolutionary Biology, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1737532021-12-16T19:09:24Z2021-12-16T19:09:24Z1 millipede, 1,306 legs: we just discovered the world’s leggiest animal hiding in Western Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437932/original/file-20211216-27-1niyfzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C11%2C3982%2C3377&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul E. Marek, Bruno A. Buzatto, William A. Shear, Jackson C. Means, Dennis G. Black, Mark S. Harvey, Juanita Rodriguez, Scientific Reports.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Millipedes were the first land animals, and today we know of more than 13,000 species. There are likely thousands more species of the many-legged invertebrates awaiting discovery and formal scientific description.</p>
<p>The name “millipede” comes from the Latin for “thousand feet”, but until now no known species had more than 750 legs. However, my colleagues and I recently found <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-02447-0">a new champion</a>. </p>
<p>The eyeless, subterranean <em>Eumillipes persephone</em>, discovered 60 metres underground near the south coast of Western Australia, has up to 1,306 legs, making it the first “true millipede” and the leggiest animal on Earth.</p>
<h2>Finding life underground</h2>
<p>In Australia, most species in some groups of invertebrates are still undescribed. Many could even become extinct before we know about them.</p>
<p>Part of the reason is that life is everywhere, even where we least expect it. You could be excused for thinking remote areas of Western Australia such as the Pilbara and the Goldfields, where the land is arid and harsh, are not home to too many species. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437949/original/file-20211216-15-11fkzif.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437949/original/file-20211216-15-11fkzif.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437949/original/file-20211216-15-11fkzif.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437949/original/file-20211216-15-11fkzif.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437949/original/file-20211216-15-11fkzif.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437949/original/file-20211216-15-11fkzif.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437949/original/file-20211216-15-11fkzif.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The arid landscapes of Western Australia harbour a surprising diversity of life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the reality is very different. An enormously diverse array of poorly known animals live underground, inhabiting cavities and fractures in the rock several metres below the surface.</p>
<p>One way to find out about these creatures is to place “troglofauna traps” far below the surface. <em>E. persephone</em> was found in one of these traps, which had spent two months 60m underground in a mining exploration bore in the Goldfields.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/about-500-000-australian-species-are-undiscovered-and-scientists-are-on-a-25-year-mission-to-finish-the-job-161793">About 500,000 Australian species are undiscovered – and scientists are on a 25-year mission to finish the job</a>
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<h2>A lucky discovery</h2>
<p>At the time I was working for a company called Bennelongia Environmental Consultants, which had been hired by the mining company to survey the animals in the area. I was lucky enough to be in the laboratory on the day the leggiest animal on Earth was first seen.</p>
<p>Our senior taxonomist, Jane McRae, showed me these incredibly elongated millipedes, less than a millimetre wide and almost 10 centimetres long. She pointed out how their triangular faces placed them in the family Siphonotidae, comprised of sucking millipedes from the order Polyzoniida. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437938/original/file-20211216-21-3yvudt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437938/original/file-20211216-21-3yvudt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437938/original/file-20211216-21-3yvudt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437938/original/file-20211216-21-3yvudt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437938/original/file-20211216-21-3yvudt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437938/original/file-20211216-21-3yvudt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437938/original/file-20211216-21-3yvudt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437938/original/file-20211216-21-3yvudt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A female <em>Eumillipes persephone</em> with 330 segments and 1,306 legs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul E. Marek, Bruno A. Buzatto, William A. Shear, Jackson C. Means, Dennis G. Black, Mark S. Harvey, Juanita Rodriguez, Scientific Reports</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Their long, thin and pale bodies, with hundreds of legs, reminded me of a paper I had read years earlier, which redescribed the leggiest millipede in the world, the Californian <em>Illacme plenipes</em>, bearing 750 legs. Back in 2007, while teaching zoology at Campinas State University in Brazil, I used that paper to explain to students how no millipede species in the world really had 1,000 legs. </p>
<p>Often, popular names are scientifically inaccurate, but in front of me I had an animal that stood a chance of finally making the name millipede biologically correct. </p>
<h2>A true millipede at last</h2>
<p>I suggested to Jane that our new specimens might be more consistent with <em>I. plenipes</em>, which belongs to another order of millipedes, the Siphonophorida. We consulted Mark Harvey from the WA Museum, and together were surprised to realise Siphonophorida are very rare in Australia: there are only three known species, all found on the east coast. </p>
<p>Next, I contacted Paul Marek at Virginia Tech in the United States, a millipede expert and lead author of that paper about the 750-legged <em>I. plenipes</em>. He was excited to receive the specimens a few weeks later.</p>
<p>This new species turned out to have up to 1,306 legs, making it the first true millipede. Paul named it <em>Eumillipes persephone</em>, in reference to its “true 1,000 legs” nature, and to Persephone, the goddess of the underworld in Greek mythology who was taken from the surface by Hades. </p>
<h2>Why so many legs?</h2>
<p><em>E. persephone</em> was most likely driven to its underground life as the landscape above became hotter and drier over millions of years. We eventually discovered Jane was right about the nature of <em>E. persephone</em>: it is in fact a member of the Siphonotidae family, only distantly related to <em>I. plenipes</em>, and is therefore the only species in the whole order Polyzoniida with no eyes. </p>
<p>We classify any millipede with more than 180 body segments as “super-elongated”. <em>E. persephone</em> has 330.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437943/original/file-20211216-15-zklige.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437943/original/file-20211216-15-zklige.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437943/original/file-20211216-15-zklige.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437943/original/file-20211216-15-zklige.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437943/original/file-20211216-15-zklige.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437943/original/file-20211216-15-zklige.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=695&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437943/original/file-20211216-15-zklige.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=695&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437943/original/file-20211216-15-zklige.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=695&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Just a few of the legs of a male <em>Eumillipes persephone</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul E. Marek, Bruno A. Buzatto, William A. Shear, Jackson C. Means, Dennis G. Black, Mark S. Harvey, Juanita Rodriguez, Scientific Reports</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With a genetic analysis, we found that super-elongation has evolved repeatedly in millipedes, and it might be an adaptation to living underground. </p>
<p>The large number of legs likely provides enhanced traction and power to push their bodies through small gaps and fractures in the soil. But this is just a hypothesis at this stage, and we have no direct evidence that having more legs is an adaptation to subterranean life.</p>
<h2>Finding the unknown</h2>
<p>Finding this incredible species, which represents a unique branch of the millipede tree of life, is a small first step towards the conservation of subterranean biodiversity in arid landscapes. </p>
<p>This starts with documenting new species, assessing their vulnerability, and ultimately devising conservation priorities and management plans. </p>
<p>A large proportion of the species of arid Australia are undescribed. For subterranean fauna, this may be more than 90%. Not knowing these animals exist makes it impossible to assess their conservation status. </p>
<p>Biodiversity surveys, and especially the taxonomy that supports them, are incredibly important. Taxonomists such as Jane, Paul and Mark are the unsung heroes of conservation.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/an-end-to-endings-how-to-stop-more-australian-species-going-extinct-111627">An end to endings: how to stop more Australian species going extinct</a>
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</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173753/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruno Alves Buzatto works for Bennelongia Environmental Consultants. He has previously been funded by the University of Western Australia, Macquarie University, the Australian Research Council, Australian Geographic and National Geographic, but none of this funding is related to the research described in this article. Bruno is also an honorary lecturer at Macquarie University and an adjunct research fellow at the University of Western Australia and the Western Australian Museum.</span></em></p>Millipede means ‘1,000 feet’, but until now the name was a bit of an exaggeration.Bruno Alves Buzatto, Principal Biologist at Bennelongia Environmental Consultants, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1726022021-12-15T19:08:22Z2021-12-15T19:08:22ZHibbert’s flowers and Hitler’s beetle – what do we do when species are named after history’s monsters?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437438/original/file-20211214-13-y3duma.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=118%2C0%2C3843%2C2232&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hibbertia_procumbens_(6691568261).jpg">John Tann/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“What’s in a name?”, <a href="https://www.bartleby.com/70/3822.html">asked Juliet of Romeo</a>. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”</p>
<p>But, as with the Montagues and Capulets, names mean a lot, and can cause a great deal of heartache.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I are <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-the-science-of-tax-and-five-other-things-you-should-know-about-taxonomy-78926">taxonomists</a>, which means we name living things. While we’ve never named a rose, we do discover and name new Australian species of plants and animals – and there are a lot of them!</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/about-500-000-australian-species-are-undiscovered-and-scientists-are-on-a-25-year-mission-to-finish-the-job-161793">About 500,000 Australian species are undiscovered – and scientists are on a 25-year mission to finish the job</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>For each new species we discover, we create and publish a Latin scientific name, following a set of international rules and conventions. The name has two parts: the first part is the genus name (such as <em>Eucalyptus</em>), which describes the group of species to which the new species belongs, and the second part is a species name (such as <em>globulus</em>, thereby making the name <em>Eucalyptus globulus</em>) particular to the new species itself. New species are either added to an existing genus, or occasionally, if they’re sufficiently novel, are given their own new genus.</p>
<p>Some scientific names are widely known – arguably none more so than our own, <em>Homo sapiens</em>. And gardeners or nature enthusiasts will be familiar with genus names such as <em>Acacia</em>, <em>Callistemon</em> or <em>Banksia</em>.</p>
<p>This all sounds pretty uncontroversial. But as with Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, history and tradition sometimes present problems.</p>
<h2>What’s in a name?</h2>
<p>Take the genus <em><a href="http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/cgi-bin/speciesfacts_display.cgi?form=speciesfacts&name=Hibbertia">Hibbertia</a></em>, the Australian guineaflowers. This is one of the largest genera of plants in Australia, and the one we study. </p>
<p>There are many new and yet-unnamed species of <em>Hibbertia</em>, which means new species names are regularly added to this genus.</p>
<p>Many scientific names are derived from a feature of the species or genus being named, such as <em>Eucalyptus</em>, from the Greek for “well-covered” (a reference to the operculum or bud-cap that covers unopened eucalypt flowers). </p>
<p>Others <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-funny-to-name-species-after-celebrities-but-theres-a-serious-side-too-95513">honour significant people</a>, either living or dead. <em>Hibbertia</em> is named after a wealthy 19th-century English patron of botany, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hibbert">George Hibbert</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="George Hibbert by Thomas Lawrence" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437440/original/file-20211214-15-1u4xyy3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437440/original/file-20211214-15-1u4xyy3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437440/original/file-20211214-15-1u4xyy3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437440/original/file-20211214-15-1u4xyy3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437440/original/file-20211214-15-1u4xyy3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437440/original/file-20211214-15-1u4xyy3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437440/original/file-20211214-15-1u4xyy3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">George Hibbert: big fan of flowers and slavery.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Hibbert_by_Thomas_Lawrence,_1811.JPG">Thomas Lawrence/Stephen C. Dickson/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And here’s where things stop being straightforward, because Hibbert’s wealth came almost entirely from the transatlantic slave trade. He profited from taking slaves from Africa to the New World, selling some and using others on his family’s extensive plantations, then transporting slave-produced sugar and cotton back to England.</p>
<p>Hibbert was also a prominent member of the British parliament and a <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/16791">staunch opponent of abolition</a>. He and his ilk argued that slavery was economically necessary for England, and even that slaves were better off on the plantations than in their homelands. </p>
<p>Even at the time, his views were considered abhorrent by many critics. But despite this, he was handsomely recompensed for his “losses” when Britain finally abolished slavery in 1807.</p>
<p>So, should Hibbert be honoured with the name of a genus of plants, to which new species are still being added today – effectively meaning he is honoured afresh with each new publication?</p>
<p>We don’t believe so. Just like statues, buildings, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/was-first-governor-james-stirling-had-links-to-slavery-as-well-as-directing-a-massacre-should-he-be-honoured-162078">street or suburb names</a>, we think a reckoning is due for scientific species names that honour people who held views or acted in ways that are deeply dishonourable, highly problematic or truly egregious by modern standards.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Anophthalmus hitleri" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437442/original/file-20211214-13-1yaho8u.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437442/original/file-20211214-13-1yaho8u.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=980&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437442/original/file-20211214-13-1yaho8u.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=980&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437442/original/file-20211214-13-1yaho8u.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=980&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437442/original/file-20211214-13-1yaho8u.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1231&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437442/original/file-20211214-13-1yaho8u.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1231&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437442/original/file-20211214-13-1yaho8u.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1231&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This beetle doesn’t deserve to be named after the most reviled figure of the 20th century.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anophthalmus_hitleri_HabitusDors.jpg">Michael Munich/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Just as Western Australia’s King Leopold Range <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-03/wa-king-leopold-ranges-renamed-wunaamin-miliwundi-ranges/12416254">was recently renamed</a> to remove the link to the atrocious <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II_of_Belgium">Leopold II of Belgium</a>, we would like <em>Hibbertia</em> to bear a more appropriate and less troubling name.</p>
<p>The same goes for the Great Barrier Reef coral <em><a href="http://www.edgeofexistence.org/species/elegance-coral/">Catalaphyllia jardinei</a></em>, named after Frank Jardine, a brutal dispossessor of Aboriginal people in North Queensland. And, perhaps most astoundingly, the rare Slovenian cave beetle <em><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/773804">Anophthalmus hitleri</a></em>, which was named in 1933 in honour of Adolf Hitler. </p>
<p>This name is unfortunate for several reasons: despite being a small, somewhat nondescript, blind beetle, in recent years it has been reportedly <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/fans-exterminate-hitler-beetle-6232054.html">pushed to the brink of extinction</a> by Nazi memorabilia enthusiasts. Specimens are even being stolen from museum collections for sale into this lucrative market.</p>
<h2>Aye, there’s the rub</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, the official rules don’t allow us to rename <em>Hibbertia</em> or any other species that has a troubling or inappropriate name.</p>
<p>To solve this, we propose a change to the international rules for naming species. Our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/tax.12620">proposal</a>, if adopted, would establish an international expert committee to decide what do about scientific names that honour inappropriate people or are based on culturally offensive words. </p>
<p>An example of the latter is the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/tax.12622">many names of plants</a> based on the Latin <em>caffra</em>, the origin of which is a word so offensive to Black Africans that its use is <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/k-word-south-africa-and-proposed-new-penalties-against-hate-speech">banned in South Africa</a>.</p>
<p>Some may argue the scholarly naming of species should remain aloof from social change, and that Hibbert’s views on slavery are irrelevant to the classification of Australian flowers. We counter that, just like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Edward_Colston">toppling statues in Bristol Harbour</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/18/goodbye-cecil-rhodes-house-renamed-to-lose-link-to-british-empire-builder-in-africa">removing Cecil Rhodes’ name from public buildings</a>, renaming things is important and necessary if we are to right history’s wrongs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/was-first-governor-james-stirling-had-links-to-slavery-as-well-as-directing-a-massacre-should-he-be-honoured-162078">WA's first governor James Stirling had links to slavery, as well as directing a massacre. Should he be honoured?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We believe that science, including taxonomy, must be socially responsible and responsive. Science is embedded in culture rather than housed in ivory towers, and scientists should work for the common good rather than blindly follow tradition. Deeply problematic names pervade science just as they pervade our streets, cities and landscapes.</p>
<p><em>Hibbertia</em> may be just a name, but we believe a different name for this lovely genus of Australian flowers would smell much sweeter.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was co-authored by Tim Hammer, a postdoctoral research fellow at the State Herbarium of South Australia.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172602/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Thiele does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One of Australia’s largest groups of flower species is named after a wealthy British slave-trader. And Nazi memorabilia collectors have almost sent “Hitler’s beetle” extinct. It’s time for a change.Kevin Thiele, Adjunct Assoc. Professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1715692021-11-22T22:10:43Z2021-11-22T22:10:43ZWhat’s in a name? When it comes to human fossils, it’s complicated<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432022/original/file-20211115-13-v8i0ut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3400%2C3393&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">_Homo bodoensis_ was named after a skull discovered almost 50 years ago in Ethiopia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Ettore Mazza)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Homo bodoensis</em> is the new name given to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21929">a human ancestor who lived half a million years ago in Africa</a>. The species is named after <a href="https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/fossils/bodo">a skull from Bodo D'ar, Ethiopia</a>.</p>
<p>The finding was made nearly 50 years ago, and it has been described by several different names over the decades. The new name is the result of a new reassessment of the fossil record. Species names are frequently revised thanks to the complicated nature of biological diversity and the rules constructed to categorize it. But when it comes to human ancestors, species names can carry emotional and political baggage, which the rules don’t easily account for. </p>
<p>Around 100,000 years ago, towards the later part of the Pleistocene epoch, modern humans shared the planet with several other human species. These included our closest relatives, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1706426114">the Neanderthals and Denisovans</a>. We all evolved from a distant relative called <em>Homo erectus</em>, and our lineages diverged about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw1268">800,000 years ago</a>, in the Early Pleistocene. </p>
<p>The intervening time period — <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chibanian-age-earths-newly-named-geological-period-180974224/">known as the Middle Pleistocene or Chibanian Age</a> — is particularly important because this is when our species, <em>Homo sapiens</em>, emerged.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432024/original/file-20211115-13-ppr0j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graph showing human evolution including _Homo bodoensis_ and _Homo sapiens_" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432024/original/file-20211115-13-ppr0j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432024/original/file-20211115-13-ppr0j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1082&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432024/original/file-20211115-13-ppr0j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1082&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432024/original/file-20211115-13-ppr0j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1082&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432024/original/file-20211115-13-ppr0j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1360&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432024/original/file-20211115-13-ppr0j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432024/original/file-20211115-13-ppr0j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1360&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A model of human evolution with <em>Homo bodoensis</em> positioned ancestrally to modern humans (<em>Homo sapiens</em>)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21929">(M. Roksandic, P. Radović, X.J. Wu and C. J. Bae)</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unfortunately, the human fossil record from the Chibanian is sparse and poorly understood — a problem paleoanthropologists refer to as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/262331a0">the muddle in the Middle</a>.” </p>
<p>There are several human species named from this period, but since the 1980s, paleoanthropologists have tended to lump most of these fossils under one name, <a href="https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-heidelbergensis"><em>Homo heidelbergensis</em></a>. This practice simplified things, but it obscured our understanding of variability in these humans. Many paleoanthropologists agree that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2017.10.013">it is high time to tackle this head-on</a>.</p>
<h2>The species problem</h2>
<p>Species don’t clearly exist in nature: they’re a scientific construct. This might sound surprising — after all, dogs are dogs and cats are cats. But the closer we look into the details, the more problems emerge. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-species-the-most-important-concept-in-all-of-biology-is-a-complete-mystery-119200">What is a species? The most important concept in all of biology is a complete mystery</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For example, how do we divide species over evolutionary time? Evolution can occur gradually by imperceptible increments, seamlessly transitioning from one “species” to the next. The boundaries between these “<a href="https://www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/Evolutionary_vs_Chronospecies.html">chronospecies</a>” are inherently arbitrary so taxonomists — biologists whose work involves identifying and categorizing organisms — create rules to help divide living things into species when no natural boundaries exist.</p>
<p>These rules are called <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/evo-eco-lab/species-concepts/">species concepts</a>. The most popular of these, called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/species-concept">the biological species concept</a>, says that species are groups of organisms that can produce fertile offspring with one another, but not with other organisms. Dogs can make puppies with other dogs, but not with cats, so they are different species. </p>
<p>The objective criteria of this concept have made it very appealing to analytically minded scientists. But the biological species concept isn’t perfect. Notably, it only works for sexually reproducing organisms, which excludes the majority of species, including bacteria and viruses. It’s also not very helpful in paleontology, since we can’t really crossbreed extinct animals to see if they were interfertile. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44966-1">Over 30 other species concepts</a> have been proposed, which try to account for these shortcomings. But if species are not natural categories, it probably isn’t possible to create a single concept that applies to every possible scenario. Species concepts are scientific tools, and the best one depends on the questions being asked.</p>
<h2>Strict rules</h2>
<p>Naming species is a whole other issue. It can often be difficult to decide if a new fossil represents a new species or just individual variation within an existing species. The fossil record is constantly being reassessed: different species are combined into one or one species gets divided into two. This can lead to a lot of confusion over species names — different scientists may use the same names to describe different species and vice versa. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.iczn.org/">International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature</a> was established to help mitigate this confusion. The ICZN publishes guidelines for animal names with the goal of promoting clarity and stability in scientific communication. One of the most important ICZN rules states that <a href="https://code.iczn.org/validity-of-names-and-nomenclatural-acts/article-23-principle-of-priority/?frame=1">if there is a conflict between the validity of two or more names, the oldest established name has priority</a>. </p>
<p>This is why, as children, many of us were disappointed to learn that <em>Brontosaurus</em> never existed: several fossils were reassessed and combined into one species, and <em>Apatosaurus</em> had priority. But the same approach <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-brontosaurus-is-back1/">resurrected <em>Brontosaurus</em> after another reassessment in 2015</a>.</p>
<h2>New names</h2>
<p>This brings us back to <em>Homo bodoensis</em>. Under the biological species concept, the new name is moot since we know that <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/fossil-dna-reveals-new-twists-in-modern-human-origins-20190829/">modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans all interbred</a>. The claim that all these groups belong to a single species, <em>Homo sapiens</em>, is valid … <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086190/characters/nm0000027#:%7E:text=When%20that%20happened%2C%20the%20good,A%20certain%20point%20of%20view%3F">from a certain point of view</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CVvbhVOMLJd","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>But a more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21386">pragmatic approach that defines species based on distinctive physical traits</a> can serve us better here. From this perspective, all of the Chibanian fossils which share Neanderthal traits get reassigned to <em>Homo neanderthalensis</em>. This includes <a href="http://efossils.org/page/boneviewer/Homo%20heidelbergensis/Mauer%201">the fossil for which <em>Homo heidelbergensis</em> was named</a> — according to the ICZN, that name becomes obsolete.</p>
<p>The remaining Chibanian humans in Africa and parts of Eurasia, which are ancestral to modern humans, but lack specific modern human traits, become a new species.</p>
<p>What should this species be named? The ICZN is unambiguous about this: the name <em>Homo rhodesiensis</em> has priority, since it was given to <a href="https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/fossils/kabwe-1">a human skull found in Zambia in 1921</a>, although the species was poorly described at the time. </p>
<p>However, the name refers to the former British colony of Rhodesia and its namesake, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32131829">imperialist mining magnate Cecil Rhodes</a>. This name should be unpalatable to a scientific community interested in decolonization, but the ICZN has made it clear that it will not make provisions to allow name changes based on <a href="https://profjoecain.net/changing-offensive-names-taxonomy/">perceived offensiveness</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/decolonise-science-time-to-end-another-imperial-era-89189">Decolonise science – time to end another imperial era</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But the ICZN only maintains authority by convention — we respect it because we agree that it works. Researchers and publishers can make their own decisions about which names to accept and which to reject. <em>Homo bodoensis</em> represents a new option in this regard.</p>
<p>In the end, it’s important not to lose sight of the forest for the trees. Species names are meant to help us understand nature, and when they start to get in the way of that goal it’s time to rethink them. <em>Homo bodoensis</em> may be just a name, but the names we use influence the way we perceive the world. And rules or no rules, the best names are the ones that scientists use clearly and consistently.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171569/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Allan Lindal receives funding from NSERC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mirjana Roksandic receives funding from NSERC. She is affiliated with the University of Winnipeg, University of Manitoba, Canada and the DFG Center for Advanced Studies “Words, Bones, Genes, Tools” at the University of Tübingen, Germany</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Predrag Radović receives funding from NSERC. </span></em></p>If scientific research is to take decolonization seriously, names for species should reflect this approach and consider the political, social and emotional implications.Joshua Allan Lindal, PhD student, Anthropology, University of ManitobaMirjana Roksandic, Professor, Anthropology, University of WinnipegPredrag Radović, Research Assistant, Archaeology, University of BelgradeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1653272021-08-10T20:12:43Z2021-08-10T20:12:43ZHere are 5 new species of Australian trapdoor spider. It took scientists a century to tell them apart<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414451/original/file-20210804-16-1wzleoe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C19%2C997%2C643&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A female _Euoplos variabilis_ from Mount Tamborine</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeremy Wilson</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>After a century of scientific confusion, we can now officially add five new species to Australia’s long list of trapdoor spiders — secretive, burrowing relatives of tarantulas.</p>
<p>It all <a href="https://journals.australian.museum/rainbow-and-pulleine-1918-rec-aust-mus-127-81169/">started in 1918</a>, when a species known as <em>Euoplos variabilis</em>, was first described. Since then, this species has been considered widespread throughout south-eastern Queensland.</p>
<p>However, in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/IS20055">new research</a>, fellow arachnologists from the Queensland Museum studied the physical appearance and DNA of these trapdoor spiders. They revealed this “widespread” species is actually several.</p>
<p>Many trapdoor spider species are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/IS02009">short-range endemics</a>, meaning they only occur in one small area. This makes them especially vulnerable to threats such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtr038">habitat destruction and degradation</a>, which is why the discovery and description of these new species from Queensland is so important — they can now be protected from future threats.</p>
<h2>Meet Australia’s trapdoor spiders</h2>
<p>To many people, Australia’s spider diversity is a source of fear. To arachnologists like myself, it’s a goldmine. </p>
<p>Weird and wonderful new species are everywhere. While new discoveries are relatively common, it’s likely most Australian spider species are still yet to be named by science. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412297/original/file-20210720-21-1di1z00.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412297/original/file-20210720-21-1di1z00.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412297/original/file-20210720-21-1di1z00.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412297/original/file-20210720-21-1di1z00.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412297/original/file-20210720-21-1di1z00.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412297/original/file-20210720-21-1di1z00.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412297/original/file-20210720-21-1di1z00.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412297/original/file-20210720-21-1di1z00.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The crenate burrow of <em>Euoplos crenatus</em>, a recently discovered ‘palisade trapdoor spider’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Rix</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Trapdoor spiders live in burrows that usually have a hinged door at the entrance that the spider constructs using silk, soil or other material from the surrounding area. Their burrows can be camouflaged, but to a trained eye they’re easily found on the <a href="https://mary-cairncross.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/See-and-do/The-rainforest/Invertebrates/Trapdoor-spider">soil embankments beside walking tracks</a> in eastern Australian rainforests.</p>
<p>In the past few years, I’ve been part of a team studying the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/IS16065">spiny trapdoor spiders</a> — a group of relatively large (up to about seven centimetres long, including legs) but highly secretive spiders found throughout Australia. They belong to an ancient group called the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syz064">Mygalomorphae</a> that, alongside tarantulas, includes the infamous Australian funnel-web spiders.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412299/original/file-20210720-13-d4dm8k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412299/original/file-20210720-13-d4dm8k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412299/original/file-20210720-13-d4dm8k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=137&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412299/original/file-20210720-13-d4dm8k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=137&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412299/original/file-20210720-13-d4dm8k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=137&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412299/original/file-20210720-13-d4dm8k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=172&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412299/original/file-20210720-13-d4dm8k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=172&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412299/original/file-20210720-13-d4dm8k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=172&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian spiders of the group called the Mygalomorphae: left, a funnel-web spider; middle, a wishbone spider; right, a tree trapdoor spider.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeremy Wilson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Like other trapdoor spiders, adult male and female spiny trapdoor spiders look shockingly different. When males reach adulthood, their physical appearance changes: their legs get longer and thinner, and their first appendages (called “pedipalps”) develop into structures used for mating. In contrast, adult females remain short-legged and robust. </p>
<p>Male trapdoor spiders undergo this dramatic change because as adults they must leave their burrow and search for females to breed. </p>
<p>Their long legs presumably help them run faster and further in search of females, and also allow them to keep the vulnerable parts of their body out of harm’s way once they meet the (usually larger) female, who isn’t always happy to see them.</p>
<h2>The mystery of the trapdoor spider from Mount Tamborine</h2>
<p>This striking differences in appearance between male and female spiny trapdoor spiders (“sexual dimorphism”) was at the heart of the mystery regarding the true identity of <em>Euoplos variabilis</em>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412301/original/file-20210720-15-kov1hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412301/original/file-20210720-15-kov1hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412301/original/file-20210720-15-kov1hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=203&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412301/original/file-20210720-15-kov1hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=203&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412301/original/file-20210720-15-kov1hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=203&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412301/original/file-20210720-15-kov1hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412301/original/file-20210720-15-kov1hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412301/original/file-20210720-15-kov1hy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A male and female of the same species of trapdoor spider, showing the sleek, long-legged male and the robust female.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeremy Wilson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When the species was first described in 1918, it was based only on female spiders, which were red-brown, large and lived in the rainforest of Mount Tamborine, just south of Brisbane.</p>
<p>In 1985, a male spider, also from Mount Tamborine, was finally linked to the original females. Matching male and female trapdoor spiders of the same species can be difficult because they look so different. </p>
<p>This all changed when the Queensland Museum team began researching the spiny trapdoor spiders of eastern Australia in 2015. When they looked in the museum’s natural history collection, it seemed like males of the Mount Tamborine trapdoor spider were widespread, spanning Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-travelled-australia-looking-for-peacock-spiders-and-collected-7-new-species-and-named-one-after-the-starry-night-sky-135201">I travelled Australia looking for peacock spiders, and collected 7 new species (and named one after the starry night sky)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But strangely, they found females from different locations looked different. </p>
<p>While females from the Mount Tamborine rainforest were large and red-brown, those from the lowlands of north Brisbane were small and tan. And in the rainforest of the D'Aguilar Range, north of Brisbane, the females were even bigger, with a bright orange carapace and red legs. </p>
<p>Could these really all be the same species?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412307/original/file-20210720-25-1eofc0e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412307/original/file-20210720-25-1eofc0e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412307/original/file-20210720-25-1eofc0e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412307/original/file-20210720-25-1eofc0e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412307/original/file-20210720-25-1eofc0e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412307/original/file-20210720-25-1eofc0e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412307/original/file-20210720-25-1eofc0e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412307/original/file-20210720-25-1eofc0e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the males originally thought to be <em>Euoplos variabilis</em>. It was later realised these males belong to an entirely different species, now called <em>Cryptoforis hughesae</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Rix</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>This mystery was solved in two steps</h2>
<p>First, in 2018, the museum’s arachnologists discovered the seemingly widespread males were actually members of a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1636/JoA-S-18-100">completely different group of trapdoor spiders</a>, which also occurs in eastern Australia. In other words, there had been a male/female mismatch!</p>
<p>Then, by collecting fresh trapdoor spiders around south-east Queensland and studying their DNA, they discovered the Mount Tamborine trapdoor spider actually doesn’t occur in Brisbane at all. In fact, it’s found only in the mountain ranges bordering New South Wales, with Mount Tamborine being its the most northerly location.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, the female spiders found in Brisbane, the D'Aguilar range, and in various other areas, turned out to be several completely different species, new to science. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ever-wondered-whod-win-in-a-fight-between-a-scorpion-and-tarantula-a-venom-scientist-explains-155138">Ever wondered who'd win in a fight between a scorpion and tarantula? A venom scientist explains</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These species can be distinguished by subtle differences in size and colour, and by differences in their DNA. The different species seem to be adapted to different habitats, at different elevations. </p>
<p>So, alongside <em>Euoplos variabilis</em>, the original Mount Tamborine trapdoor spider, the new confirmed species are: </p>
<ul>
<li><p><em>Euoplos raveni</em> and <em>Euoplos schmidti</em>, both from the lowland forests of the Brisbane Valley, south of the Brisbane River</p></li>
<li><p><em>Euoplos regalis</em> from the upland rainforest of the D'Aguilar Range</p></li>
<li><p><em>Euoplos jayneae</em> from the the lowland forests of the Sunshine Coast hinterlands</p></li>
<li><p><em>Euoplos booloumba</em> from the upland rainforest of the Conondales Range</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These five new species put the total number of known spiny trapdoor spider species to 258.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414461/original/file-20210804-13-1seaokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414461/original/file-20210804-13-1seaokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414461/original/file-20210804-13-1seaokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414461/original/file-20210804-13-1seaokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414461/original/file-20210804-13-1seaokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414461/original/file-20210804-13-1seaokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414461/original/file-20210804-13-1seaokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414461/original/file-20210804-13-1seaokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Don’t be alarmed, bites from a trapdoor spider aren’t dangerous to humans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What happens now?</h2>
<p>And so, the mystery was solved. Another small fraction of Australia’s beautiful biodiversity is known to science and can be preserved. But the story isn’t over just yet. </p>
<p>To properly conserve these species, we need to understand more about how they live. This is why the research team and I are undertaking <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/aen.12367">a long-term study</a> on one of these new species, <em>Euoplos grandis</em> from the Darling Downs. We hope to learn the intricacies of their lives and to track whether populations are declining from threats such as habitat destruction.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/photos-from-the-field-zooming-in-on-australias-hidden-world-of-exquisite-mites-snails-and-beetles-147576">Photos from the field: zooming in on Australia's hidden world of exquisite mites, snails and beetles</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We’re also continuing our mission to discover and describe new species of trapdoor spider, not just from Queensland, but from all around Australia. </p>
<p>The story of the Mount Tamborine trapdoor spider exemplifies the type of detective work Australian scientists undertake on all types of animal groups. But when it comes to invertebrates, we’ve barely scratched the surface, with new species of bugs, spiders, worms and more <a href="https://theconversation.com/photos-from-the-field-zooming-in-on-australias-hidden-world-of-exquisite-mites-snails-and-beetles-147576">waiting to be discovered</a>. </p>
<p>Working on discovering these invertebrates comes with a sense of urgency. These species need a name and formal protection, before it’s too late.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dofuOSR85t4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Who would win in a fight between a scorpion and a tarantula? A venom scientists explains for The Conversation.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p><em>Jeremy Wilson and Michael Rix from Queensland Museum were co-authors on this article</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165327/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Harvey has received ARC and ABRS grants dealing with trapdoor spiders.</span></em></p>To many people, Australia’s spider diversity is a source of fear. To arachnologists, it’s a goldmine, with most Australian spider species still yet to be discovered.Mark Harvey, Curator of Arachnology at the Western Australian Museum, Adjunct Professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1617932021-06-01T20:12:07Z2021-06-01T20:12:07ZAbout 500,000 Australian species are undiscovered – and scientists are on a 25-year mission to finish the job<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403711/original/file-20210601-19-1tnmg7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C6%2C1695%2C1296&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Here are two quiz questions for you. How many species of animals, plants, fungi, fish, insects and other organisms live in Australia? And how many of these have been discovered and named?</p>
<p>To the first, the answer is we don’t really know. But the best guess of taxonomists – the scientists who discover, name, classify and document species – is that Australia’s lands, rivers, coasts and oceans probably house <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/land/nrs/about-nrs/protecting-biodiversity">more than 700,000 distinct species</a>.</p>
<p>On the second, taxonomists estimate <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/science/abrs/online-resources">almost 200,000 species have been scientifically named</a> since Europeans first began exploring, collecting and classifying Australia’s remarkable fauna and flora. </p>
<p>Together, these estimates are disturbing. After <a href="https://www.anbg.gov.au/biography/vlamingh-willem.html">more than 300 years</a> of effort, scientists have documented <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-07/75-per-cent-of-species-unknown-fact-check/5649858?nw=0">fewer than one-third</a> of Australia’s species. The remaining 70% are unknown, and essentially invisible, to science. </p>
<p>Taxonomists in Australia name an average <a href="https://www.taxonomyaustralia.org.au/new-species-2019">1,000 new species</a> each year. At that rate, it will take at least 400 years to complete even a first-pass stocktake of Australia’s biodiversity.</p>
<p>This poor knowledge is a serious threat to Australia’s environment. And a first-of-its kind report <a href="http://science.org.au/taxonomyplan">released today</a> shows it’s also a huge missed economic opportunity. That’s why today, Australia’s taxonomists are calling on governments, industry and the community to support an important mission: discovering and documenting all Australian species within 25 years.</p>
<h2>Australia: a biodiversity hotspot</h2>
<p>Biologically, Australia is one of the richest and most diverse nations on Earth – between 7% and 10% of all species on Earth <a href="https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile/?country=au">occur here</a>. It also has among the world’s <a href="https://stateoftheworldsplants.org/2016/">highest rates of species discovery</a>. But our understanding of biodiversity is still very, very incomplete.</p>
<p>Of course, First Nations peoples discovered, named and classified many species within their knowledge systems long before Europeans arrived. But we have no ready way yet to compare their knowledge with Western taxonomy.</p>
<p>Finding new species in Australia is not hard - there are almost certainly unnamed species of insects, spiders, mites and fungi in your backyard. Any time you take a bush holiday you’ll drive past hundreds of undiscovered species. The problem is recognising the species as new and finding the time and resources to deal with them all.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/533025445" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Taxonomists describe and name new species only after very careful due diligence. Every specimen must be compared with all known named species and with close relatives to ensure it is truly a new species. This often involves detailed microscopic studies and gene sequencing. </p>
<p>More fieldwork is often needed to collect specimens and study other species. Specimens in museums and herbaria all over the world sometimes need to be checked. After a great deal of work, new species are described in scientific papers for others to assess and review.</p>
<p>So why do so many species remain undiscovered? One reason is a shortage of taxonomists trained to the level needed. Another is that technologies to substantially speed up the task have only been developed in the past decade or so. And both these, of course, need appropriate levels of funding.</p>
<p>Of course, some groups of organisms are better known than others. In general, noticeable species – mammals, birds, plants, butterflies and the like – are fairly well documented. Most less noticeable groups - many insects, fungi, mites, spiders and marine invertebrates - remain poorly known. But even inconspicuous species are important.</p>
<p>Fungi, for example, are essential for maintaining our natural ecosystems and agriculture. They fertilise soils, control pests, break down litter and recycle nutrients. Without fungi, the world would literally grind to a halt. Yet, <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/science/abrs/publications/other/numbers-living-species/executive-summary#fungi">more than 90% of Australian fungi</a> are believed to be unknown. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-discovered-a-hidden-world-of-fungi-inside-the-worlds-biggest-seed-bank-156051">How we discovered a hidden world of fungi inside the world’s biggest seed bank</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="fungi on log" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403713/original/file-20210601-23-i6ddjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403713/original/file-20210601-23-i6ddjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403713/original/file-20210601-23-i6ddjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403713/original/file-20210601-23-i6ddjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403713/original/file-20210601-23-i6ddjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403713/original/file-20210601-23-i6ddjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403713/original/file-20210601-23-i6ddjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fungi plays an essential ecosystem role.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mind the knowledge gap</h2>
<p>So why does all this matter? </p>
<p>First, Australia’s biodiversity is under severe and increasing threat. To manage and conserve our living organisms, we must first <a href="https://theconversation.com/hundreds-of-australian-lizard-species-are-barely-known-to-science-many-may-face-extinction-161572">discover and name them</a>.</p>
<p>At present, it’s likely many undocumented species are becoming extinct, invisibly, before we know they exist. Or, perhaps worse, they will be discovered and named from dead specimens in our museums long after they have gone extinct in nature.</p>
<p>Second, many undiscovered species are crucial in maintaining a sustainable environment for us all. Others may emerge as pests and threats in future; most species are rarely noticed until something goes wrong. Knowing so little about them is a huge risk.</p>
<p>Third, enormous benefits are to be gained from these invisible species, once they are known and documented. A report <a href="http://science.org.au/taxonomyplan">released today</a>
by Deloitte Access Economics, commissioned by Taxonomy Australia, estimates a benefit to the national economy of between A$3.7 billion and A$28.9 billion if all remaining Australian species are documented. </p>
<p>Benefits will be greatest in biosecurity, medicine, conservation and agriculture. The report found every $1 invested in discovering all remaining Australian species will bring up to $35 of economic benefits. Such a cost-benefit analysis has never before been conducted in Australia. </p>
<p>The investment would cover, among other things, research infrastructure, an expanded grants program, a national effort to collect specimens of all species and new facilities for gene sequencing.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-few-months-ago-science-gave-this-rare-lizard-a-name-and-it-may-already-be-headed-for-extinction-140356">A few months ago, science gave this rare lizard a name – and it may already be headed for extinction</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two scientists walk through wetlands holding boxes" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403715/original/file-20210601-25-1yf3pk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403715/original/file-20210601-25-1yf3pk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403715/original/file-20210601-25-1yf3pk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403715/original/file-20210601-25-1yf3pk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403715/original/file-20210601-25-1yf3pk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403715/original/file-20210601-25-1yf3pk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403715/original/file-20210601-25-1yf3pk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Discovering new species often involves lots of field work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mission possible</h2>
<p>Australian taxonomists – in museums, herbaria, universities, at the CSIRO and in
government departments – have spent the last few years planning an ambitious mission to discover and document all remaining Australian species within a generation.</p>
<p>So, is this ambitious goal achievable, or even imaginable? Fortunately, yes. </p>
<p>It will involve deploying new and emerging technologies, including <a href="https://research.csiro.au/environomics/team-research-projects/high-throughput-collection-genomics-of-highly-variable-dna-samples/">high-throughput robotic DNA sequencing</a>, <a href="https://research.csiro.au/icv/critterpedia-an-ai-powered-app-to-identify-insect-and-snake-species/#:%7E:text=Critterpedia%3A%20an%20AI%2Dpowered%20app%20to%20identify%20insect%20and%20snake%20species,-July%2015th%2C%202020&text=Critterpedia%20is%20an%20AI%2Dpowered,or%20snake%20submitted%20by%20users.">artificial intelligence</a> and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/supercomputer-scours-fossil-record-for-earths-hidden-extinctions/">supercomputing</a>. This will vastly speed up the process from collecting specimens to naming new species, while ensuring rigour and care in the science.</p>
<p>A national meeting of Australian taxonomists, including the young early career researchers needed to carry the mission through, was held last year. The meeting confirmed that with the right technologies and more keen and bright minds trained for the task, the rate of species discovery in Australia could be sped up by the necessary 16-fold – reducing 400 years of effort to 25 years. </p>
<p>With the right people, technologies and investment, we could discover all Australian species. By 2050 Australia could be the world’s first biologically mega-rich nation to have documented all our species, for the direct benefit of this and future generations.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hundreds-of-australian-lizard-species-are-barely-known-to-science-many-may-face-extinction-161572">Hundreds of Australian lizard species are barely known to science. Many may face extinction</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161793/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Thiele has received funding from The Ian Potter Foundation and from relevant sector organisations for the work that led to this article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Melville does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>After more than 300 years of effort, scientists have documented fewer than one-third of Australia’s species. The remaining 70% are unknown, and essentially invisible, to science.Kevin Thiele, Adjunct Assoc. Professor, The University of Western AustraliaJane Melville, Senior Curator, Terrestrial Vertebrates, Museums Victoria Research InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1615722021-06-01T20:10:39Z2021-06-01T20:10:39ZHundreds of Australian lizard species are barely known to science. Many may face extinction<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403481/original/file-20210530-17-i4ac6g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6020%2C4019&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">E Vanderduys</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most of the incredible diversity of life on Earth is yet to be discovered and documented. In some groups of organisms – terrestrial arthropods such as spiders and scorpions, marine invertebrates such as sponges and molluscs, and others – scientists have described fewer than 20% of species.</p>
<p>Even our knowledge of more familiar creatures such as fish and reptiles is far from complete. In our <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001210">new research</a>, we studied 1,034 known species of Australian lizards and snakes and found we know so little about 164 of them that not even the experts know whether they are fully described or not. Of the remaining 870, almost a third probably need some work to be described properly.</p>
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<img alt="Map of Australia shaded in colours from blue to red." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Return on investment for taxonomic research on lizards and snakes in Australia. Red areas have high numbers of species and high conservation value. Hotspots include the Kimberley in WA, northern tropical savannas and also far north eastern QLD.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">R. Tingley</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Documenting and naming what species are out there – the work of taxonomists – is crucial for conservation, but it can be difficult for researchers to decide where to focus their efforts. Alongside our lizard research, we have developed a new “return on investment” approach to identify priority species for our efforts. </p>
<p>We identified several hotspots across Australia where research is likely to be rewarded. More broadly, our approach can help target taxonomic research for conservation worldwide. </p>
<h2>Why we need to look at species more closely</h2>
<p>As more and more species are threatened by land clearing, climate change and other human activities, our research highlights that we are losing even more biodiversity than we know.</p>
<p>Conservation often relies on species-level assessments such as those conducted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org">Red List</a>, which lists threatened species. Although new species are being discovered all the time, a key problem is that already named “species” may harbour multiple undocumented and unnamed species. This hidden diversity remains invisible to conservation assessment.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Roma Earless Dragon (<em>Tympanocryptis wilsoni</em>), described in 2014, lives only in grasslands in the western Darling Downs QLD and has recently been listed as Vulnerable in Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">A. O'Grady</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One such example are the Grassland Earless Dragons (<em>Tympanocryptis</em> spp.) found in the temperate native grasslands of south-eastern Australia. These small secretive lizards were grouped within a single species (<em>Tympanocryptis pinguicolla</em>) and listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. </p>
<p>But recent taxonomic research split this single species into four, each occurring in an isolated region of grasslands. One of these new species may represent the first extinction of a reptile on mainland Australia and the other three have a high probability of being threatened. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-were-not-giving-up-the-search-for-mainland-australias-first-extinct-lizard-117831">Why we're not giving up the search for mainland Australia's 'first extinct lizard'</a>
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<p>Scientists call documenting and describing species “taxonomy”. Our research shows the importance of prioritising taxonomy in the effort to conserve and protect species. </p>
<h2>Taxonomists at work</h2>
<p>Many government agencies do take some account of groups smaller than species in their conservation efforts, such as distinct populations. But these are often ambiguously defined and lack formal recognition, so they are not widely used. That’s where taxonomists come in, to identify species and describe them fully.</p>
<p>Our new research was a collaboration of 30 taxonomists and systematists, who teamed up to find a good way of working out which species should be a priority for taxonomic research for conservation outcomes. This new approach compares the amount of work needed with the likelihood of finding previously unknown species that are at risk of extinction.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Barrier Range Dragon (<em>Ctenophorus mirrityana</em>), described in 2013, is restricted to rocky ranges in western NSW and is listed as Endangered in NSW.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">S. Wilson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The research team, who are experts on the taxonomy and systematics of Australia’s reptiles, implemented this new approach on Australian lizards and snakes. This group of reptiles is ideal as a test case because Australia is a global hotspot of lizard diversity – and we also have a strong community of taxonomic experts.</p>
<h2>Australia’s lizards and snakes</h2>
<p>Of the 1,034 Australian lizard and snake species, we were able to assess whether 870 of them may contain undescribed species. This means we know so little about the remaining 164 species that even the experts could not make an informed opinion on whether they contain hidden diversity. There is so much still to learn!</p>
<p>Of the 870 species experts could assess, they determined 282 probably or definitely needed more taxonomic research. Mapping the distributions of these species indicated hotspot regions for this taxonomic research, including the Kimberley, the Tanami Desert region, western Victoria and offshore islands (such as Tasmania, Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands). Some areas in the Kimberley region had more than 60 species that need further taxonomic research.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this map, red hotspot areas have lower species diversity but still a very high average return on investment. National hotspots include Tasmania, western Victoria and the Tanami Desert region in WA and NT.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">R. Tingley</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found 17.6% of the 282 species that need more taxonomic research contained undescribed species that would probably be of conservation concern, and 24 had a high probability of being threatened with extinction. Taxonomists know that there are undescribed species because there is some data available already but the description of these species – the process of defining and naming – has not been done. </p>
<p>These high-priority species belong to a range of families including geckos, skinks and dragons found across Australia.</p>
<p>The high number of undescribed species, especially those with significant likelihood of being endangered, was a shock to even the experts. The IUCN currently estimates only 6.3% of Australian lizards and snakes require taxonomic revision, but this is obviously a significant underestimate.</p>
<h2>A race against extinction</h2>
<p>Beyond lizards, there is a huge backlog of species awaiting description. </p>
<p>Recent projects have used genetic analyses to discover unknown species, including a $180 million global BIOSCAN effort aiming to <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/06/180-million-dna-barcode-project-aims-discover-2-million-new-species">identify millions of new species</a>. However, genetics is only a first step in the formal recognition of species. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/about-500-000-australian-species-are-undiscovered-and-scientists-are-on-a-25-year-mission-to-finish-the-job-161793">About 500,000 Australian species are undiscovered – and scientists are on a 25-year mission to finish the job</a>
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<p>The taxonomic process of documenting, describing and naming species requires multiple further steps. These steps include a comprehensive diagnostic assessment using a combination of evidence, such as genetics and morphology, to uniquely distinguish each species from another. This process requires a high level of familiarity and scholarship of the group in question.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Mt Elliot Sunskink (<em>Lampropholis elliotensis</em>), described in 2018, is found in leaf litter of highland rainforest above 600m on Mt Elliot in Bowling Green Bay National Park. Queensland, and is probably Vulnerable.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">C. Hoskin</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Among the Australian lizards and snakes alone, there is a backlog of 59 undescribed species for which only the final elements of taxonomic research are awaiting completion.</p>
<p>To work through these taxonomic backlogs – let alone species that are so far entirely unknown – resources need to be invested in taxonomy, including research funding and increased provision of viable career paths. </p>
<p>Without taxonomic research, the conservation assessment of these undocumented species will not proceed. There are untold numbers of species needing taxonomic research that are already under threat of extinction. If we don’t hurry, they may go extinct before we even know they exist.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161572/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Melville undertook this work supported by an Australian Fulbright Commission scholarship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Reid Tingley receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>There are too many little-understood species for scientists to study them all. A new approach helps decide which ones to tackle first.Jane Melville, Senior Curator, Terrestrial Vertebrates, Museums Victoria Research InstituteReid Tingley, Lecturer, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1612142021-06-01T11:28:50Z2021-06-01T11:28:50ZHow we discovered a giant new crustacean scavenging on the deepest depths of the ocean floor<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401617/original/file-20210519-13-168up36.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=121%2C675%2C4039%2C2032&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">_Eurythenes atacamensis_, a giant scavenging amphipod from hadal depths of the Peru-Chile Trench.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-021-01182-z">Alan Jamieson</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Discovering a new species and placing it on the tree of life is a big responsibility. I have been fortunate to name four species from some of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4748.1.9">deepest</a>, most remote and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2020.1729891">least sampled</a> parts of the ocean. Each new species helps us uncover how life thrives in the <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=hqsPBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=jamieson+hadal+zone&ots=mwSGRXURPG&sig=UknVAyND0muPevPRqfvTtWB3BQs#v=onepage&q=jamieson%20hadal%20zone&f=false">hadal zone</a> (anywhere deeper than 6,000 metres or 3.7 miles). Now, let me introduce you to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-021-01182-z"><em>Eurythenes atacamensis</em></a>.</p>
<p><em>Eurythenes atacamensis</em> is an amphipod, a type of crustacean closely related to a shrimp, endemic to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Peru-Chile-Trench">Peru-Chile Trench</a> (also known as the Atacama Trench). Measuring more than 8cm in length, it is nearly twice the size of its nearest relative, making it a giant. Spanning an extensive vertical range, juveniles and adults can be found in the trench between 4,974 to 8,081 metres. This includes the deepest point, known as Richard’s Deep. </p>
<p>It is one of the most abundant members of the trench community, joining a <a href="https://theconversation.com/snailfish-how-we-found-a-new-species-in-one-of-the-oceans-deepest-places-103003">trio of snailfish</a> and long-legged, spider-like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txSOP_9yLCI">isopods</a>. As a <a href="https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2007.52.4.1685">scavenger</a>, this amphipod plays a critical role within the food web by intercepting and redistributing food sinking down from above. They quickly detect and consume new carrion, like the mackerel bait we used to coax individuals into the trap. Unfortunately, they can accidentally ingest <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.180667">microplastics</a> too.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bFqluXB9HcE?wmode=transparent&start=10" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Timelapse of <em>Eurythenes atacamensis</em> feasting on the baited scientific lander at 6,980 metres deep in the Atacama Trench.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Their home is one of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2018.01.007">35 trenches</a> that reach hadal depths. These trenches are formed by a geologic process called subduction (where one tectonic plate is forced under another causing the ocean floor to quickly plunge). The volume of the Atacama Trench is almost the same as the neighbouring Andes mountain range, also created by the tectonic subduction zone. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Colour map of Atacama Trench." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402227/original/file-20210523-17-1agzf2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402227/original/file-20210523-17-1agzf2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1184&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402227/original/file-20210523-17-1agzf2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1184&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402227/original/file-20210523-17-1agzf2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1184&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402227/original/file-20210523-17-1agzf2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402227/original/file-20210523-17-1agzf2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402227/original/file-20210523-17-1agzf2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Atacama Trench in dark blue running along the spine of Peru to Chile.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NOAA/Wikipedia</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Compared to the conditions at the surface, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2009.09.009">hadal (or deep-sea) environment</a> seems extreme. It is pitch black with water temperatures varying between 1°C and 4°C at the deepest points. The hydrostatic pressure at hadal depths ranges from 600 to 1,100 atmospheres – equivalent to placing one-tonne on the end of your finger.</p>
<p>But this environment is entirely normal to the organisms that live there. Hadal inhabitants have a suite of biochemical, morphological and behavioural <a href="http://digital.ecomagazine.com/publication/?i=562381&article_id=3286789&view=articleBrowser&ver=html5">adaptions</a> that allow them to thrive in the trenches. Studying these ecosystems is not an easy task – which is why the hadal zone has been understudied compared to shallower parts of the ocean. </p>
<p>In 2018 two international research expeditions focused on the southern portion of the Atacama Trench. Scientists first set off on the Chilean vessel, RV Cabo de Hornos, to study the deepest part of the trench, Richard’s Deep, as part of the <a href="https://en.imo-chile.cl/post/2018-02-10-un-viaje-a-nuestro-mar-inescrutable-la-fosa-de-atacama.html">Atacamex expedition</a>. A month later, scientists on the German vessel, RV Sonne, <a href="https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/49388/1/BzPM_0729_2019.pdf">studied</a> the wider trench ecosystem, sampling from 2,500 metres to Richard’s Deep.</p>
<p>During the expeditions, unmanned submersibles called <a href="https://www.sdu.dk/en/forskning/hadal/research/lander+work">landers</a> were deployed. Landers were equipped with robust deep-sea imaging equipment and baited traps to bring animals up for closer inspection. Both expeditions were a success and collected hundreds of hours of footage and thousands of amphipods – including <em>Eurythenes atacamensis</em> – as well as a <a href="https://theconversation.com/snailfish-how-we-found-a-new-species-in-one-of-the-oceans-deepest-places-103003">new species of snailfish</a>, affectionately nicknamed the “Little Purple Lovely” until its official scientific name is decided. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A drawing of an deep-sea creature." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402228/original/file-20210523-13-1hlljwb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402228/original/file-20210523-13-1hlljwb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=297&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402228/original/file-20210523-13-1hlljwb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=297&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402228/original/file-20210523-13-1hlljwb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=297&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402228/original/file-20210523-13-1hlljwb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402228/original/file-20210523-13-1hlljwb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402228/original/file-20210523-13-1hlljwb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scientific illustration of the <em>Eurythenes atacamensis</em> holotype, a female from 8052 metres in the Atacama Trench.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Johanna Weston/Marine Biodiversity</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once the specimens were back on land, the detailed work to sort, measure, identify and describe new species commenced. <em>Eurythenes atacamensis</em> is a member of a well-studied deep-sea genus (<em>Eurythenes</em>), which is notorious for what is known as <a href="https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3971.1.1">cryptic speciation</a>. In other words, when it is hard to visually tell one species from another. The fantastic photographs of <em>Eurythenes atacamensis</em> were actually taken back in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10489">2009 expedition</a> to the trench. </p>
<p>At the time, it was first identified as <em>Eurythenes gryllus</em>. With the new 2018 specimens, we accounted for cryptic speciation by applying an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1742-9994-7-16">integrative taxonomy approach</a> – pairing traditional morphology (the detailed study of an organism’s shape) with <a href="https://theconversation.com/dna-barcoding-a-better-way-to-discover-species-4933">DNA barcoding</a>. This latest research showed it was actually a different and undescribed species. </p>
<p>This taxonomic process helped us categorise organisms so we could more easily communicate the biological information. Together, the detailed visual assessment and genetics gave us a clear result that <em>Eurythenes atacamensis</em> was a new species. Once confident in the data, we selected several individuals to be described and illustrated. These individuals are called type specimens – the most important of which is the <a href="https://ecologyforthemasses.com/2019/09/12/preserving-biological-heritage-the-importance-of-type-specimens/">holotype</a> or the “name-bearing” specimen. We chose the name <em>atacamensis</em> in tribute to its home.</p>
<p>This discovery is another piece in the puzzle of understanding the world that we live in and the subtle interactions between organisms and their environment. It helps us understand how life thrives in the deepest parts of the ocean, under conditions that seem impossible to terrestrial mammals like us. It also gives us a glimpse into the hadal zone – not an extreme habitat bereft of life, but one filled with extraordinary biodiversity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161214/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The RV Sonne SO261 Expedition was funded by the HADES–ERC Advanced Grant “Benthic diagenesis and microbiology of hadal trenches” (Grant Agreement Number 669947) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The Atacamex Expedition was funded by the National Agency for Research and Development of Chile (ANID; Grant AUB 150006/12806). Additional support came from the Danish National Research Foundation, HADAL, (Grant number DNRF145), ANID through the Millennium Science Initiative Program (Grant ICN 12_019-IMO), and internal funding from Newcastle University</span></em></p>Deep ocean trenches are home to extraordinary biodiversity waiting to be discovered.Johanna Weston, PhD Marine Science candidate, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1584102021-04-13T19:15:51Z2021-04-13T19:15:51ZForensics and ship logs solve a 200-year mystery about where the first kiwi specimen was collected<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394670/original/file-20210413-21-1v74e1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=72%2C555%2C3953%2C1708&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The flightless kiwi is an iconic bird for New Zealanders, but all five species are threatened by habitat loss and introduced predators.</p>
<p>Recent genomic analysis focused on one species, the South Island brown kiwi or <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/kiwi/tokoeka/">tokoeka</a>, suggests several as yet undescribed lineages. Before these can be fully described and treated as genetically distinct, it is necessary to determine where the first tokoeka specimen was collected.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Skin of a kiwi, collected during the 19th century" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393710/original/file-20210407-19-36e7ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393710/original/file-20210407-19-36e7ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=246&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393710/original/file-20210407-19-36e7ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=246&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393710/original/file-20210407-19-36e7ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=246&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393710/original/file-20210407-19-36e7ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393710/original/file-20210407-19-36e7ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393710/original/file-20210407-19-36e7ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The holotype specimen of a kiwi, Apteryx australis, held at World Museum Liverpool, came from Rakiura/ Stewart Island.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">National Museums Liverpool</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Any plant or animal specimen used for the first scientific description is called a holotype. Until now, it was a mystery where the kiwi holotype was collected, but our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10592-021-01349-y">research</a>, using digitised ship logs and modern forensic techniques, shows there is little doubt the first bird seen by European scientists came from Rakiura/Stewart Island.</p>
<p>This discovery could have repercussions for kiwi conservation.</p>
<p>There are four distinct populations of the South Island brown kiwi today: one in the mountains behind Haast, two in Fiordland and one on Rakiura/Stewart Island. In the past, separate tokoeka populations were found in other parts of the country, but have become extinct since human arrival.</p>
<p>Māori treasure the kiwi and its feathers are valued in weaving kahukiwi (kiwi feather cloak) for people of high rank. But the bird’s first description by European scientists is relatively recent, based on a specimen that made its way to London in 1812. </p>
<p>Following the strict conventions of taxonomy, this first kiwi was named <em>Apteryx australis</em> — belonging to a group of birds “with no wing” (Apteryx) and representing a southern (australis) branch. </p>
<h2>What we knew about the original kiwi</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Drawing of a kiwi" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394653/original/file-20210413-23-8620ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394653/original/file-20210413-23-8620ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=897&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394653/original/file-20210413-23-8620ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=897&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394653/original/file-20210413-23-8620ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=897&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394653/original/file-20210413-23-8620ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1128&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394653/original/file-20210413-23-8620ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1128&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394653/original/file-20210413-23-8620ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1128&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The original illustration of the kiwi, taken from the skin of the specimen, suggests the artist didn’t know the bird’s posture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Biodiversity Heritage Library</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1813, George Shaw, the zoology keeper at the British Museum, published a description of the kiwi in his series of encyclopaedias called Vivarium naturae, or the Naturalist’s Miscellany. </p>
<p>Drawings by Richard and Elizabeth Nodder were made from the original specimen skin and suggest a penguin was used as a model. </p>
<p>Shaw mentioned he received the kiwi skin from his friend, Mr W. Evans (possibly a William Evans, a draughtsman and engraver of natural history plates active 1797–1856) who had passed it on from “captain Barclay”.</p>
<p>We know this was captain Andrew Barclay, of the convict transport ship and privateer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providence_(1807_ship)">Providence</a>. He had obtained the specimen during the austral winter of 1811 on a visit to Port Jackson. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394656/original/file-20210413-17-8v5lrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394656/original/file-20210413-17-8v5lrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394656/original/file-20210413-17-8v5lrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394656/original/file-20210413-17-8v5lrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394656/original/file-20210413-17-8v5lrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394656/original/file-20210413-17-8v5lrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394656/original/file-20210413-17-8v5lrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Providence in full sail. Thomas Whitcombe painted the ship during the period Barclay was captain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">National Maritime Museum</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>New Zealand’s European history is considerable shorter than Australia’s. Even in the early 19th century, Europeans had not visited large parts of Te Wai Pounamu (South Island) and the southernmost island Rakiura was virtually unknown. </p>
<p>It was even uncertain to many cartographers whether Rakiura was actually an island or part of the South Island, <a href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/james-cook-sights-banks-island">as captain James Cook had believed</a>.</p>
<p>Sealing brought Europeans to southern parts of New Zealand from the 1790s. Most of the early sealing voyages were made out of Port Jackson (Sydney). Between 1792 and 1803, most sealing activity was confined to Fiordland, but seal numbers were so low by 1810 that sealing gangs turned their attention to subantarctic islands and Rakiura.</p>
<p><a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/628276?searchTerm=providence%20barclay%201811">Records</a> show the Providence moored at Port Jackson throughout the winter of 1811, before departing for China and England on October 20 1811. The ship carried a cargo of seal pelts bound for the Chinese market, and we now know the kiwi specimen was probably sold to Barclay by a sealer who had recently returned from southern New Zealand.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dead-as-the-moa-oral-traditions-show-that-early-maori-recognised-extinction-101738">Dead as the moa: oral traditions show that early Māori recognised extinction</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Enter modern forensics</h2>
<p>After Shaw’s death in 1813, his collections were sold at auction. Much of his collection, including this skin, made its way to Edward Smith-Stanley, styled Lord Stanley. It was bequeathed along with his entire collection to the City of Liverpool in 1851 and is now deposited in the World Museum Liverpool. </p>
<p>In 2019, we visited the museum and were given permission to take a tiny sample of skin for DNA analysis to determine once and for all where European science’s first kiwi was collected. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Drawing of a kiwi" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394666/original/file-20210413-13-yb37gq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C16%2C789%2C451&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394666/original/file-20210413-13-yb37gq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394666/original/file-20210413-13-yb37gq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394666/original/file-20210413-13-yb37gq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394666/original/file-20210413-13-yb37gq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394666/original/file-20210413-13-yb37gq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394666/original/file-20210413-13-yb37gq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An illustration by Elizabeth Nodder, published in The Naturalist’s Miscellany.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Biodiversity Heritage Library</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We used DNA amplification techniques developed for modern police forensics and sequenced both the complete mitochondrial genome and part of the nucleic genome. We then compared our results with data from a <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/08/24/1603795113">study published in 2016</a>. </p>
<p>There is little doubt this kiwi came from Rakiura, and we may be able to pinpoint who collected it. Official records for <a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-374737890/view?partId=nla.obj-374764511">New South Wales</a> indicate two ships arrived in Port Jackson from the sealing grounds of Foveaux Strait in 1811: the Boyd and the Sydney Cove. Either could be the source of the holotype, but the Sydney Cove was sealing close to the South Cape on Rakiura, which seems the most likely type of location.</p>
<h2>Why this matters</h2>
<p>In order to get money and public attention for endangered species, it is necessary to show that when two populations exist and one is under threat, the threatened one is truly unique. Distinct populations are generally given scientific names. </p>
<p>Recent genetic <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/08/24/1603795113">work</a> shows each separate living kiwi population in southern New Zealand is indeed distinct and belongs to one of four distinct lineages. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-used-fake-news-to-stop-predators-killing-endangered-birds-and-the-result-was-remarkable-152320">Scientists used 'fake news' to stop predators killing endangered birds — and the result was remarkable</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As a consequence of our conclusion that the first kiwi collected by Europeans and named <em>Apteryx australis</em> came from Rakiura, we suggest a revision to call the Rakiura tokoeka <em>Apteryx australis australis</em>. </p>
<p>This also has implications for the naming of other southern brown kiwi populations. We are working in consultation with Ngāi Tahu, the Māori guardians of this area, to develop a scientific framework to describe the genetic diversity of the South Island brown kiwi they call tokoeka.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158410/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Māori treasure kiwi feathers for weaving cloaks for high-ranking people. But the bird’s first description by European scientists is quite recent, based on a specimen that arrived in London in 1812.Paul Scofield, Adjunct professor, University of CanterburyVanesa De Pietri, Fellow, University of CanterburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1505982020-11-24T15:00:38Z2020-11-24T15:00:38ZThe world’s newest monkey species was found in a lab, not on an expedition<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370884/original/file-20201123-23-1y2ibtb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C331%2C3469%2C2324&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Popa langur, photographed in early 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Aung Ko Lin, Fauna & Flora International</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The discovery of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54894681">Popa langur</a>, a medium-sized leaf-eating monkey found in central Myanmar, was recently announced by scientists. It is estimated there are just 200-250 of these monkeys, which will likely mean the new species is classed as “critically endangered”. This find was announced just a week or so after <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-76364-z">two new species of greater glider</a> – a gliding marsupial – were identified in Australia. But what do scientists mean when they announce the discovery of “new” mammalian species? Were these animals really unknown to science?</p>
<p>While discoveries such as the langur and the gliders are certainly exciting, it is important to clarify that these were not previously unseen species uncovered by some intrepid explorer. Rather, these animals have been identified as a genetically distinct group within an already-known population. In fact, local people have been living with these animals for generations, and have their own ways of identifying and classifying species. When scholars announce a newly defined species based on genetic evidence, it usually means they have elevated an already defined subspecies to the species level. </p>
<p>Species are <a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-what-is-a-species-107402">not as clear-cut as they seemed </a> when we first learned about them in school. Most scholars use the “biological species concept”, which is based on whether the animals are able to produce fertile offspring together, but there are many other ways to define a species. Like most other recently-described primates, the Popa langur has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-theres-been-a-boom-in-discovering-new-species-despite-a-biodiversity-crisis-99475">identified using genetic information</a>, or the phylogenetic species concept. This is based on how animals relate to other groups in evolutionary terms, essentially defining a species as the smallest group that can be genetically distinguished from another species but still shares a clear ancestor.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371064/original/file-20201124-19-17c2yxd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Golden buildings on top of a steep rocky summit." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371064/original/file-20201124-19-17c2yxd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371064/original/file-20201124-19-17c2yxd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371064/original/file-20201124-19-17c2yxd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371064/original/file-20201124-19-17c2yxd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371064/original/file-20201124-19-17c2yxd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371064/original/file-20201124-19-17c2yxd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371064/original/file-20201124-19-17c2yxd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The monkeys are mostly found on and around Mount Popa, which is also known for its spectacular monastery.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Avigator Fortuner / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Elevation of a subspecies to new species based on genetic information can be controversial. Some scholars dismiss these discoveries as “taxonomic inflation”, and worry that changing classifications <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/evan.21387?casa_token=EXPnEmZkSkIAAAAA:KZkyajgfXMe7pLbzyUZXQMIxCfaOlP1esftr5ivYuKC0gcNGxGmulquYz1n88Id2mG74rN_rQNstLw">can confuse conservation efforts</a>. Others note that without a name and reliable population estimate, these little pockets of genetic variation could easily go extinct without notice, and that elevating them to species level <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1693347/pdf/15253356.pdf">ensures that conservation funding and efforts</a> are directed to these at-risk groups. Wherever you stand, it is worth noting that the idea of a species – under any definition – is a human construct to explain variation in the natural world, and no definition will be a perfect representation of biological variation.</p>
<h2>Identifying a new species</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.zoores.ac.cn/en/article/doi/10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.254">newly described Popa langur</a> was discovered through a phylogenetic study which sought to better understand the evolutionary relationships among the 20 known species of the genus <em>Trachypithecus</em> – known informally as the langurs, lutungs, or leaf monkeys. Scientists used faecal samples from wild langurs and tissue samples from museum specimens to clarify taxonomic relationships across the genus.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370888/original/file-20201123-23-168usze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black monkey with blue face sits on branch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370888/original/file-20201123-23-168usze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370888/original/file-20201123-23-168usze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370888/original/file-20201123-23-168usze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370888/original/file-20201123-23-168usze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370888/original/file-20201123-23-168usze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370888/original/file-20201123-23-168usze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370888/original/file-20201123-23-168usze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Phayre’s langur has lost some of its population to ‘new’ species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ezaz ahmed Evan / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One group of langurs stood out – the genetic evidence showed that there were clear western and eastern varieties, but that a central population did not fit into either of these. The western and eastern varieties, which were previously named subspecies of Phayre’s langur, were then elevated to the species level (Phayre’s langur or <em>Trachypithecus phayrei</em> and the Shan State langur or <em>T. melamera</em>, respectively). The remaining population was called <em>Trachypithecus popa</em> – the Popa langur, after nearby Mount Popa. This newly defined species lives in four distinct populations, and is at risk of extinction due to its small numbers, deforestation, and the effects of agriculture and timber extraction.</p>
<p>It may come as a surprise to hear that a newly-discovered species is at risk of extinction, but this is often the case with genetic reclassifications. The two previously named subspecies from which the Popa langur was identified were already classified as “endangered” under the official <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22040/17960739">International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list criteria</a>, which means that these already-threatened animals now have an even smaller population than previously believed. Both of those subspecies – Phayre’s and the Shan State langur, now species in their own right – will need to be re-evaluated for extinction risk. The Popa langur has not yet been classified but the study authors suggest that it should fall under the category of “critically endangered”, due to its small and fragmented population and the limited habitat it has available.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370885/original/file-20201123-23-1xm353m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Small furry creature clings to branch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370885/original/file-20201123-23-1xm353m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370885/original/file-20201123-23-1xm353m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370885/original/file-20201123-23-1xm353m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370885/original/file-20201123-23-1xm353m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370885/original/file-20201123-23-1xm353m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370885/original/file-20201123-23-1xm353m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370885/original/file-20201123-23-1xm353m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aye-ayes are more scientifically valuable than any single species of langur.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">javarman / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Genetic reclassifications can be an important reminder to focus conservation efforts at higher taxonomic levels. For example, the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/aye-aye/">aye-aye</a>, an odd nocturnal primate found in the forests of Madagascar, represents a monospecific genus – a genus with only a single living species. There is no living creature quite like an aye-aye, so its extinction would be a great loss of genetic, ecological, and behavioural diversity. The Popa langur, by contrast, is one of roughly 20 species in the langur genus <em>Trachypithecus</em>, who all share a relatively recent evolutionary history. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, the identification of each new primate species tells us a little more about the diversity of this fascinating order of mammals. By understanding that the Popa langur is genetically distinct from neighbouring populations, we can better prioritise conservation efforts for this group of animals. This new classification will be vital for generating conservation funds to protect this rare monkey and its environment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150598/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracie McKinney is affiliated with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as part of the Primate Specialist Group Section for Human-Primate Interactions.</span></em></p>How scientists discovered the ‘Popa langur’ was a separate species of just 200 monkeys.Tracie McKinney, Senior Lecturer in Human Biology, University of South WalesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1397542020-09-25T02:50:53Z2020-09-25T02:50:53ZWe accidentally found a whole new genus of Australian daisies. You’ve probably seen them on your bushwalks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359924/original/file-20200925-16-1jdunxq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C27%2C2580%2C1909&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexander Schmidt-Lebuhn</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When it comes to new botanical discoveries, one might imagine it’s done by trudging around a remote tropical rainforest. Certainly, that does <a href="https://theconversation.com/geosiris-is-an-early-contender-for-sexiest-plant-of-2019-109889">still happen</a>. But sometimes seemingly familiar plants close to home hold unexpected surprises. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tax.12321">recently discovered</a> a new genus of Australian daisies, which we’ve named <em>Scapisenecio</em>. And we did so on the computer screen, during what was meant to be a routine analysis to test a biocontrol agent against <a href="https://research.csiro.au/cape-ivy/">a noxious weed</a> originally from South Africa. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tree-ferns-are-older-than-dinosaurs-and-thats-not-even-the-most-interesting-thing-about-them-138435">Tree ferns are older than dinosaurs. And that's not even the most interesting thing about them</a>
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<p>The term “genus” refers to groups of different, though closely related, species of flora and fauna. For example, there are more than 100 species of roses under the <em>Rosa</em> genus, and brushtail possums are members of the <em>Trichosurus</em> genus.</p>
<p>This accidental discovery shows how much is still to be learned about the natural history of Australia. <em>Scapisenecio</em> is a new genus, but thousands of visitors to the Australian Alps see one of its species flowering each summer. If this species was still misunderstood, surely similar surprises are still out there waiting for us.</p>
<h2>How it began</h2>
<p>It all started with a biocontrol researcher asking a plant systematist, who looks at the evolutionary history of plants, to help figure out the closest Australian native relatives of the weed, Cape ivy (<em>Delairea odorata</em>). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359925/original/file-20200925-20-469wfd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cape ivy leaves covering a tree stump" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359925/original/file-20200925-20-469wfd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359925/original/file-20200925-20-469wfd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359925/original/file-20200925-20-469wfd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359925/original/file-20200925-20-469wfd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359925/original/file-20200925-20-469wfd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359925/original/file-20200925-20-469wfd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359925/original/file-20200925-20-469wfd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cape ivy is destructive to agriculture and native plants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Murray Fagg/Australian Plant Image Index</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Weeds like Cape ivy cause major damage to agriculture in Australia, displace native vegetation and require extensive management. <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-biocontrol-fights-invasive-species-31298">Biological control</a> (biocontrol) is one way to reduce their impact. This means taking advantage of insects or fungi that attack a weed, generally after introducing them from the weed’s home range. </p>
<p>A well-known Australian example is the introduction of the <em>Cactoblastis</em> moth in 1926 to control <a href="https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/55301/IPA-Prickly-Pear-Story-PP62.pdf">prickly pear</a> in Queensland and New South Wales. Even today it continues to keep that weed in check.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-biocontrol-fights-invasive-species-31298">Explainer: how 'biocontrol' fights invasive species</a>
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<p>To minimise the risk of selecting a biocontrol agent that will damage native flora, ornamental plants or crops, it’s tested carefully against a list of species of varying degrees of relatedness to the target weed. </p>
<p>Authorities will approve the release of a biocontrol agent only if scientists can show it’s highly specific to the weed. Assembling a list of species to test therefore requires us to understand the evolutionary relationships of the target weed to other plant species. </p>
<p>If such relationships are poorly understood, we might fail to test groups of species that are closely related to the target. </p>
<h2>Missing data</h2>
<p>Our target weed Cape ivy is a climbing daisy that has <a href="https://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/Weeds/CapeIvy">become invasive</a> in temperate forests and coastal woodlands throughout south-eastern Australia. One of us, Ben Gooden, is researching the potential use of <em>Digitivalva delaireae</em> — a stem-boring moth — for its biocontrol. </p>
<p>We tried to design a test list, but could not find up-to-date information on Cape ivy’s relatives. We already knew it is related to the large groundsel genus <em>Senecio</em>, but we didn’t know how closely. And no genetic data existed for many Australian native species of <em>Senecio</em>.</p>
<p>So, we set out to solve this problem together. </p>
<p>First, we assembled already-published DNA sequences for as many <em>Senecio</em> species and relatives as we could find, and then generated sequences for an additional 32 native Australian species. </p>
<p>We then united all these genetic data into a comprehensive <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/reading-a-phylogenetic-tree-the-meaning-of-41956/">phylogenetic analysis</a>. “Phylogenetics” infers the evolutionary relatedness of organisms to each other.</p>
<h2>Hidden in the evolutionary tree</h2>
<p>The resulting “evolutionary tree” showed many of the native <em>Senecio</em> species where we expected them to be. More importantly, however, it showed us that Cape ivy is actually quite distantly related to <em>Senecio</em>. </p>
<p>To our surprise, the analysis also placed several Australian species traditionally belonging to the <em>Senecio</em> genus far outside of it, indicating they didn’t belong to <em>Senecio</em> at all and needed to be renamed.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359926/original/file-20200925-18-1lo871p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Simplified phylogenetic tree" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359926/original/file-20200925-18-1lo871p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359926/original/file-20200925-18-1lo871p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359926/original/file-20200925-18-1lo871p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359926/original/file-20200925-18-1lo871p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359926/original/file-20200925-18-1lo871p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359926/original/file-20200925-18-1lo871p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359926/original/file-20200925-18-1lo871p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Simplified phylogenetic tree of the daisy tribe <em>Senecioneae</em> showing the evolutionary distance between Senecio, Cape ivy, and the new genus. Unlabelled branches indicate other lineages of the same tribe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexander Schmidt-Lebuhn</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most interesting group of not-actually-<em>Senecio</em> are five species with leaf rosettes and one (or rarely, a few) flowerheads carried on distinctive stalks. </p>
<p>They’re all restricted to alpine or subalpine areas of south-eastern Australia, and all except one are found only in Tasmania. They turned out to be so unrelated, and so distinct from any other named plant genera, that they have to be recognised as a genus in its own right.</p>
<h2>Introducing <em>Scapisenecio</em></h2>
<p>We have now <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tax.12321">named</a> this new genus as <em>Scapisenecio</em>, after the long flower stalks (scapes) characterising the plants. </p>
<p>The most widespread and common species is <em><a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2920621">Scaposenecio pectinatus</a></em>, commonly known as the alpine groundsel, which is a familiar sight to hikers and bushwalkers in the Australian mainland alps and the central highlands of Tasmania. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359927/original/file-20200925-18-d5xuyh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close-up of a single yellow daisy" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359927/original/file-20200925-18-d5xuyh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359927/original/file-20200925-18-d5xuyh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359927/original/file-20200925-18-d5xuyh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359927/original/file-20200925-18-d5xuyh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359927/original/file-20200925-18-d5xuyh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359927/original/file-20200925-18-d5xuyh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359927/original/file-20200925-18-d5xuyh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Species belonging to this genus are a common sight to alpine hikers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexander Schmidt-Lebuhn</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Apart from the excitement of finding a previously undescribed, distinctive genus, these results were also directly relevant to the original purpose of our work: informing a plant list to test possible biocontrol agents. </p>
<p>The traditional misclassification of these species would have misled us about their true relationships. Our new genetic data now allow us to test biocontrol agents on an appropriate sample of species, to minimise risks to our native flora.</p>
<p>It is not often we find that a new, unexpected lineage of plants has existed all along, right in front of us.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/majestic-stunning-intriguing-and-bizarre-new-guinea-has-13-634-species-of-plants-and-these-are-some-of-our-favourites-144279">'Majestic, stunning, intriguing and bizarre': New Guinea has 13,634 species of plants, and these are some of our favourites</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139754/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Schmidt-Lebuhn receives funding from the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Environment. The project received grant funding from the Australian Government under the ‘Improving Your Local Parks and Environment’ program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Gooden receives funding primarily from Commonwealth, state and local governments, and rural Research and Development Corporations.</span></em></p>This stroke of serendipity shows how much there is still to be learned about the natural history of Australia. Surely more surprises are out there waiting for us.Alexander Schmidt-Lebuhn, Research Scientist, CSIROBen Gooden, Plant ecologist, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1460972020-09-14T19:50:44Z2020-09-14T19:50:44ZThe first step to conserving the Great Barrier Reef is understanding what lives there<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357814/original/file-20200914-20-17zrvoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C5%2C3938%2C2221&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Look at this photo of two coral skeletons below. You’d be forgiven for thinking they’re the same species, or at least closely related, but looks can be deceiving. These two species diverged tens of millions of years ago, probably earlier than our human lineage split from baboons and macaques.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357813/original/file-20200914-16-1t3tx0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two white branches of coral" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357813/original/file-20200914-16-1t3tx0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357813/original/file-20200914-16-1t3tx0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357813/original/file-20200914-16-1t3tx0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357813/original/file-20200914-16-1t3tx0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357813/original/file-20200914-16-1t3tx0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357813/original/file-20200914-16-1t3tx0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357813/original/file-20200914-16-1t3tx0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The skeletons of two staghorn coral species with the same ‘bottlebrush’ growth form. They might look similar, but they’re not closely related.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">source</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scientists have traditionally used morphology (size, shape and colour) to identify species and infer their evolutionary history. But most species were first described in the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/027073a0">19th century</a>, and based solely on features of the coral skeleton visible under a microscope. </p>
<p>Morphology remains important for species recognition. The problem is we don’t know whether a particular morphological feature reflects species ancestry, or evolved independently. </p>
<p>Our new study <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790320302165">examined</a> the traditional ideas of coral species and their evolutionary relationships using “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1755-0998.12736">phylogenomics</a>” – comparing thousands of DNA sequences across coral species. </p>
<p>Our results revealed the diversity and distributions of corals are vastly different to what we previously thought. It shows we still don’t know many fundamental aspects about the corals on Great Barrier Reef. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-just-spent-two-weeks-surveying-the-great-barrier-reef-what-we-saw-was-an-utter-tragedy-135197">We just spent two weeks surveying the Great Barrier Reef. What we saw was an utter tragedy</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>And after three mass bleaching events in five years, not having a handle on the basics could mean <a href="http://elibrary.gbrmpa.gov.au/jspui/bitstream/11017/3569/4/Draft-restoration-adaptation-policy.pdf">our attempts to intervene</a> and help coral survive climate change may have unexpected consequences. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BcUsgaFlitA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An international team of scientists have developed a new genetic tool that can help them better understand and ultimately work to save coral reefs.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How do we know which species is which?</h2>
<p>Despite being one of the <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2010.00146.x">best-studied</a> marine ecosystems on Earth, there are fundamental knowledge gaps around the Great Barrier Reef, including: </p>
<ol>
<li>how many coral species live there? </li>
<li>how do we identify them?</li>
<li>where are they found across the vast Great Barrier Reef ecosystem?</li>
</ol>
<p>Finding the answers to these questions starts with accurate “taxonomy” – the science of naming and classifying living things. </p>
<p>Identifying species based on how similar they look may seem straightforward. As Darwin famously said, closely related species often share morphological features because they inherited them from a common ancestor. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-situation-brings-me-to-despair-two-reef-scientists-share-their-climate-grief-123520">'This situation brings me to despair': two reef scientists share their climate grief</a>
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<p>However, this can be misleading if two unrelated species independently acquire similar features. This process, called convergent evolution, often occurs when different species are faced with similar ecological challenges.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2015/02/06/why-an-ichthyosaur-looks-like-a-dolphin/">classic example</a> of convergent evolution is dolphins and the prehistoric ichthyosaurs. These animals are unrelated, but share many similarities since they both occupy a similar ecological niche. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OfZnBV_LFZc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Ichthyosaurs dominated the world’s oceans for millions of years.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the other end of the spectrum, morphology can vary considerably within a single species. An alien taxonomist visiting Earth could be forgiven for describing the Chihuahua and the Irish Wolfhound as two distinct species.</p>
<h2>Bringing coral taxonomy into the 21st century</h2>
<p>We used molecular phylogenetics, a field of research that uses variations in DNA sequences to reconstruct genealogies. From corals to humans, molecular phylogenetics has revolutionised our understanding of the origins and evolution of life on Earth. </p>
<p>Molecular approaches have <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-31305-4_4">revolutionised</a> our understanding of the diversity and evolution of corals, shedding light on <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02339">deeper branches</a> in the coral “tree of life”. But within hyper-diverse, ecologically-important coral groups, such as the staghorn corals from the genus <em>Acropora</em>, we are still in the dark.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-we-can-put-a-man-on-the-moon-we-can-save-the-great-barrier-reef-121052">If we can put a man on the Moon, we can save the Great Barrier Reef</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790320302165">Our new technique</a> addresses this by comparing thousands of key regions across coral genomes (the entire genetic code of an organism) to help identify species in this ecologically important group for the first time. This method will also allow us to identify morphological features that do reflect shared ancestry and help us recognise species when diving in the reef. </p>
<p>About a quarter of all coral species on the Great Barrier Reef are staghorn corals, and they provide much of the three-dimensional structure fishes and many other coral reef animals rely on, just like trees in a forest. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358009/original/file-20200914-16-1nwnof4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Staghorn coral" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358009/original/file-20200914-16-1nwnof4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358009/original/file-20200914-16-1nwnof4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358009/original/file-20200914-16-1nwnof4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358009/original/file-20200914-16-1nwnof4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358009/original/file-20200914-16-1nwnof4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358009/original/file-20200914-16-1nwnof4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358009/original/file-20200914-16-1nwnof4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Staghorn coral from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Thomas Bridge</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unfortunately, staghorn corals are also highly susceptible to threats such as thermal bleaching and crown-of-thorns seastar predation. The future of reefs will be heavily influenced by the fate of staghorn corals.</p>
<h2>The risk of ‘silent extinctions’</h2>
<p>While we don’t yet know how many coral species occur on the Great Barrier Reef or how widespread they are, many species appear to have far smaller ranges than we previously thought. </p>
<p>For example, we now know some of the corals on Lord Howe Island are endemic to only a few reefs in subtropical eastern Australia and <a href="https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.3626.4.11">occur nowhere else</a>, not even on the Great Barrier Reef. They evolved in isolation and bleach at <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gcb.14772">much lower temperatures</a> than corals on tropical reefs. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357827/original/file-20200914-20-10f4yeq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An aerial view of Lord Howe Island" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357827/original/file-20200914-20-10f4yeq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357827/original/file-20200914-20-10f4yeq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357827/original/file-20200914-20-10f4yeq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357827/original/file-20200914-20-10f4yeq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357827/original/file-20200914-20-10f4yeq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357827/original/file-20200914-20-10f4yeq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357827/original/file-20200914-20-10f4yeq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lord Howe Island is home to the world’s southern-most coral reef.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This means Lord Howe Island’s corals are of far greater conservation concern than currently recognised, because <a href="https://theconversation.com/bleaching-has-struck-the-southernmost-coral-reef-in-the-world-114433">one severe bleaching event</a> could cause the extinction of these species. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bleaching-has-struck-the-southernmost-coral-reef-in-the-world-114433">Bleaching has struck the southernmost coral reef in the world</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The risk of “silent extinctions”, where species go extinct without even being noticed, is one of the reasons behind the Australian Academy of Science’s <a href="https://www.science.org.au/support/analysis/decadal-plans-science/discovering-biodiversity-decadal-plan-taxonomy">Decadal Plan for Taxonomy</a>, which has led to the ambitious goal to document all Australian species in the next 25 years.</p>
<h2>Intervening now may have unexpected consequences</h2>
<p>In April, the <a href="https://www.gbrrestoration.org/reports#technical-reports">Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program</a> concept feasibility study found 160 possible interventions to help save the Great Barrier Reef. <a href="https://www.gbrrestoration.org">Proposed interventions</a> include moving corals from warm to cooler waters, introducing genetically-engineered heat-tolerant corals into wild populations, and the harvest and release of coral larvae.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357829/original/file-20200914-22-qb4bx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bleached coral" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357829/original/file-20200914-22-qb4bx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357829/original/file-20200914-22-qb4bx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357829/original/file-20200914-22-qb4bx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357829/original/file-20200914-22-qb4bx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357829/original/file-20200914-22-qb4bx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357829/original/file-20200914-22-qb4bx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357829/original/file-20200914-22-qb4bx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Great Barrier Reef has undergone yet another mass bleaching event.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What could go wrong? Well-intentioned interventions may inadvertently threaten coral communities, for example, through introduction or movement of diseases within the Great Barrier Reef. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/c/cane-toad/">Cane toads</a> are a famous example of unintended consequences: introduced in the 1930s to control an insect pest, they are now wreaking havoc on Australian ecosystems.</p>
<p>Any intervention affecting the ecology of a system as complex as the Great Barrier Reef requires a precautionary approach to minimise the chance of unintended and potentially negative consequences. </p>
<p>What we need, at this time, is far greater investment in fundamental biodiversity research. Without this information, we are not in a position to judge whether particular actions will threaten the resilience of the reef, rather than enhance it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146097/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Bridge receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Quattrini receives funding from the US National Science Foundation, NOAA NCCOS (US), and the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to TDI-Brooks. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Baird receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Cowman receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>There are fundamental knowledge gaps around coral in the Great Barrier Reef, including how many species live there and where they’re found. Our new study finally starts to fill those gaps.Tom Bridge, Senior Curator - Corals, James Cook UniversityAndrea Quattrini, Researcher, Smithsonian InstitutionAndrew Baird, Professorial fellow, James Cook UniversityPeter Cowman, Research Fellow in Ecosystem Dynamics, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1429222020-08-03T19:59:44Z2020-08-03T19:59:44ZFrom superheroes to the clitoris: 5 scientists tell the stories behind these species names<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350783/original/file-20200803-20-1vd8peq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C6%2C1017%2C504&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Left: imdb. Right: Volker Framenau </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Weaving creative, heartfelt or even risqué words into the formal Latin names for new species has long been common in taxonomy — the science of classifying flora and fauna. </p>
<p>An 18th century botanist, for example, named a genus of flower “<a href="https://www.fnps.org/assets/pdf/palmetto/v13i4p8austin.pdf"><em>Clitoria</em></a>” after the human clitoris, and some scientists have named species after celebrities, or their loved ones. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350777/original/file-20200803-24-7yrdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The back of a fly with a striking resemblance to Deadpool's mask " src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350777/original/file-20200803-24-7yrdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350777/original/file-20200803-24-7yrdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=961&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350777/original/file-20200803-24-7yrdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=961&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350777/original/file-20200803-24-7yrdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=961&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350777/original/file-20200803-24-7yrdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1208&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350777/original/file-20200803-24-7yrdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1208&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350777/original/file-20200803-24-7yrdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1208&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ‘Deadpool fly’ went viral last week for its striking resemblance to the Marvel superhero.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Isabella Robinson/CSIRO</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In any case, naming a species is the first step to understanding and protecting our precious biodiversity. Only <a href="https://www.science.org.au/support/analysis/decadal-plans-science/discovering-biodiversity-decadal-plan-taxonomy">30% of the world’s species have been named</a> and many are lost to climate change, deforestation and introduction of invasive species before ever being known to science.</p>
<p>Here, five experts tell the stories behind species they’ve named or researched, from a Hugh Jackman-esque spider to a tiny crustacean named for the researcher’s partner’s swimming prowess. </p>
<h2>Wolverine (Wolf) spider, <em>Tasmanicosa hughjackmani</em></h2>
<h4>Volker Framenau</h4>
<p><a href="https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4213.1.1">This wolf spider species</a> honours the Australian actor Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine in the X-Men film series. I named the spider in 2016 after Jackman’s extraordinary artistic skills, and for his numerous philanthropic activities. </p>
<p>Of course, wolf spiders are much more remarkable than wolverines. For example, if you hold a torch or spotlight near your head, their sparkling green eyes reflect back into yours. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350790/original/file-20200803-20-ffcv81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A big hairy spider with light brown limbs and black on its torso." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350790/original/file-20200803-20-ffcv81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350790/original/file-20200803-20-ffcv81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350790/original/file-20200803-20-ffcv81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350790/original/file-20200803-20-ffcv81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350790/original/file-20200803-20-ffcv81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350790/original/file-20200803-20-ffcv81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350790/original/file-20200803-20-ffcv81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">At night you might catch its sparkling green eyes reflected in your light.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Volker Framenau</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They can orientate using polarised light, even in the absence of direct sunshine or moonlight. This allows spiders to position themselves along coastal or riverbank environments, without needing a direct view to water. </p>
<p>The wolverine spider can also “fly” using gossamer threads (their spider silk) to catch the wind. They also use multimodal (visual, chemical, percussive) communication. Their mothers carry their eggs and subsequently often hundreds of young on their back, and they can live without food for more than a year. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-funny-to-name-species-after-celebrities-but-theres-a-serious-side-too-95513">It's funny to name species after celebrities, but there's a serious side too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Butterfly pea, <em>Clitoria ternatea</em></h2>
<h4>Michelle Colgrave</h4>
<p>The genus name <em>Clitoria</em>, is taken from Latin, meaning “from a human female genital clitoris”. And if you look at the distinctive shape of the flower, you may be able to see why. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350775/original/file-20200803-16-8slzpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A purple flower with a yellow interior hangs off a stem," src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350775/original/file-20200803-16-8slzpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350775/original/file-20200803-16-8slzpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350775/original/file-20200803-16-8slzpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350775/original/file-20200803-16-8slzpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350775/original/file-20200803-16-8slzpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350775/original/file-20200803-16-8slzpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350775/original/file-20200803-16-8slzpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The genus of the butterfly pea was named after the human clitoris.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I’ve researched species within this genus, such as <em>Clitoria ternatea</em>, but it was 18th century Swedish botanist Carl von Linne (or Carolus Linnaeus) who named it. Linnaeus is credited with formalising “binomial nomenclature”, the way we name species today. And he was largely responsible for several rather ribald names, including orchids, named <em>Orchis</em> from the Greek word for “testicle”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/oh-oh-oh-the-clitoris-certainly-gives-pleasure-but-does-it-also-help-women-conceive-126593">Oh, oh, oh! The clitoris certainly gives pleasure. But does it also help women conceive?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Clitoria ternatea</em>, or the butterfly pea, is a legume originating in Africa, but is now widespread through much of Asia and tropical regions in Australia. It was used in a variety of indigenous medicines throughout Asia ascribed with a range of activities, including anecdotal evidence of their use as an aphrodisiac.</p>
<p><em>Clitoria ternatea</em> has found numerous uses in Australia as a forage crop for grazing or for soil remediation. It is popular in horticulture for its bright blue flowers, and is revered in India as a holy flower. It’s also widely used in food and beverages — from rice to tea to cocktails and liqueurs. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350773/original/file-20200803-20-1ciui3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A purple-blue tea in a glass, filled with ice, beside butterfly pea flowers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350773/original/file-20200803-20-1ciui3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350773/original/file-20200803-20-1ciui3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350773/original/file-20200803-20-1ciui3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350773/original/file-20200803-20-1ciui3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350773/original/file-20200803-20-1ciui3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350773/original/file-20200803-20-1ciui3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350773/original/file-20200803-20-1ciui3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Butterfly peas can be used for food and beverages, with a striking colour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More recently, it has been <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cb100388j">found</a> to offer protection from insect pests, and has been commercialised as <a href="http://cipps.org.au/outreach">Sero-X</a>, an eco-friendly insecticide.</p>
<p>If this sparks your interest, then you might also be interested in <em>Nepenthes</em> species or <em>Amorphophallus titanum</em>!</p>
<h2>The Beyoncé fly, <em>Plinthina beyonceae</em></h2>
<h4>Bryan Lessard</h4>
<p>Naming a species after a celebrity is a creative way to draw attention to a particular creature and taxonomy.</p>
<p>The first species I ever named was a golden horse fly from the Atherton Tableland in Queensland. It was originally collected in 1982, but there were no horse fly experts in the country to identify it, so it was archived in Australian natural history collections for 30 years.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350776/original/file-20200803-18-1sfd0rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A close-up of a fly with translucent yellow wings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350776/original/file-20200803-18-1sfd0rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350776/original/file-20200803-18-1sfd0rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=830&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350776/original/file-20200803-18-1sfd0rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=830&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350776/original/file-20200803-18-1sfd0rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=830&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350776/original/file-20200803-18-1sfd0rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1043&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350776/original/file-20200803-18-1sfd0rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1043&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350776/original/file-20200803-18-1sfd0rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1043&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Beyoncé fly, because Beyoncé is fly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bryan Lessard</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then, during my PhD in 2012, I immediately recognised it as a new species, and named it after <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-13/horse-fly-named-after-beyonce/3771224">Beyoncé</a> since I was listening to a lot of her music while examining the species under the microscope. The specimens were even collected in the same year she was born!</p>
<p><em>Plinthina beyonceae</em>, its official name, sparked a global discussion on the importance of flies. And scientists are just starting to realise how important the Beyoncé fly and other horse flies are at pollinating some of our iconic native plants including eucalypts, tea trees and grevilleas.</p>
<p>Since the Beyoncé fly, our team at <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/Collections/ANIC">CSIRO</a> has been more imaginative in naming species. Our PhD student Xuankun Li recently named a species of a winter-loving bee fly with crown of thorn-like spines after the <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/News/News-releases/2019/230-new-species-in-real-life-Game-of-Flies">Night King from Game of Thrones</a>. And just last week our undergraduate student Isabella Robinson named a heroic group of assassin flies after <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/News/News-releases/2020/Deadpool-fly-among-new-species-named-by-CSIRO">Deadpool and other Marvel characters</a>.</p>
<h2><em>Mogurnda mosa</em></h2>
<h4>Aaron Jenkins</h4>
<p>I’ve been fortunate enough to discover, describe, and name several species new to Western science, including 11 new species of fishes. While many of these critters have legitimately avoided recognition in any language, several have long been known and named by local indigenous people.</p>
<p>So, to say I “discovered” and “named” them is blatantly untrue and pongs of colonial misappropriation of traditional knowledge. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350788/original/file-20200803-16-162loea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350788/original/file-20200803-16-162loea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350788/original/file-20200803-16-162loea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350788/original/file-20200803-16-162loea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350788/original/file-20200803-16-162loea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350788/original/file-20200803-16-162loea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350788/original/file-20200803-16-162loea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350788/original/file-20200803-16-162loea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lake Kutubu, where this fish was discovered.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ambok1/Wikimedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>About 20 years ago I was the first person to SCUBA dive in Lake Kutubu — an exceptionally clear, high altitude lake in Southern Highlands in Papua New Guinea. As part of this marvellous experience I found several species of fishes new to Western science. One of which was a preferred food fish for the local Foe people, named “mosa” in Foe tokples (local language in Melanesian Pidgin). </p>
<p>In recognition of the tokples name of this species, I simply provided mosa as the species name in my scientific description. This new species is now named <em><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1150/Jenkins_et_al_2000.pdf?1596433292">Mogurnda mosa</a></em> in Western science, combining “Mogurnda”, which is an Aboriginal name used in Australia, and the tokples name “mosa”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350784/original/file-20200803-18-10yqpz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350784/original/file-20200803-18-10yqpz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350784/original/file-20200803-18-10yqpz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350784/original/file-20200803-18-10yqpz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350784/original/file-20200803-18-10yqpz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350784/original/file-20200803-18-10yqpz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350784/original/file-20200803-18-10yqpz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350784/original/file-20200803-18-10yqpz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The <em>Mogurnda mosa</em> fish, found in Papua New Guinea.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Western Australian Museum Field Guides and Catalogues</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This fish is a true indigenous species of Oceania, named to honour the original names of the traditional custodians. But oil and gas drilling around the lake significantly threatens the entire known, critically endangered population. Additional threats include invasive species.</p>
<h2>Moody’s swamp amphipod, <em>Kartachiltonia moodyi</em></h2>
<h4>Rachael King</h4>
<p>Finding tiny crustaceans in unusual places is one of the best parts of my work as a research scientist. I’ve trawled the deep-sea floor on big oceanographic vessels, fished down bore holes in arid deserts, and dug in swamps, seeps and springs in the outback — all in an effort to find new species.</p>
<p>In 2009 my colleague and I travelled to Kangaroo Island and collected specimens from a new site to us — a spring-fed swamp near Rocky River. The specimens ended up being a new genus and species of amphipod, which we called <em><a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/zo/ZO13099">Kartachiltonia moodyi</a></em>. </p>
<p>The name breaks down roughly as “Karta” for the local Indigenous name of Kangaroo Island, and “chiltonia” for the family (Chiltoniidae) it belongs to.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350770/original/file-20200803-24-110s8oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A drawing of the crustacean in black outline." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350770/original/file-20200803-24-110s8oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350770/original/file-20200803-24-110s8oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350770/original/file-20200803-24-110s8oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350770/original/file-20200803-24-110s8oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350770/original/file-20200803-24-110s8oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350770/original/file-20200803-24-110s8oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350770/original/file-20200803-24-110s8oo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An illustration of the Moody’s swamp amphipod.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The last part to the species name was named after my partner, whose last name is Moody. This animal basically has a whole extra set of gills that no other Australian chiltoniid amphipods had — and my partner was a good competitive swimmer in his youth. It made perfect sense to me (Phar Lap had a <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/collection/highlights/phar-lap-collection">bigger heart</a>, right?!).</p>
<p>He’s quite happy to have a species named for him, and also happy any similarities weren’t based on something like a giant head or weirdly shaped feet (neither of which he, or the amphipod, has).</p>
<p>And with the recent bushfires roaring through this swamp area on Kangaroo Island, we have been on tenterhooks to see if the species managed to survive. This week we’ve managed to get some samples from nearby, and it’s looking good, but I won’t know for sure until I get them under a microscope.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/click-through-the-tragic-stories-of-119-species-still-struggling-after-black-summer-in-this-interactive-and-how-to-help-131025">Click through the tragic stories of 119 species still struggling after Black Summer in this interactive (and how to help)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142922/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
From a Hugh Jackman-esque spider to honouring traditional Indigenous words, these species have memorable names.Anthea Batsakis, Deputy Environment + Energy Editor, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1388872020-07-26T19:54:37Z2020-07-26T19:54:37ZHow a scientific spat over how to name species turned into a big plus for nature<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349162/original/file-20200723-17-108f6f8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4928%2C3275&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Taxonomy, or the naming of species, is the foundation of modern biology. It might sound like a fairly straightforward exercise, but in fact it’s complicated and often controversial.</p>
<p>Why? Because there’s no one agreed list of all the world’s species. Competing lists exist for organisms such as mammals and birds, while other less well-known groups have none. And there are more than 30 definitions of what constitutes a species. This can make life difficult for biodiversity researchers and those working in areas such as conservation, biosecurity and regulation of the wildlife trade.</p>
<p>In the past few years, a public debate erupted among global taxonomists, including those who authored and contributed to this article, about whether the rules of taxonomy should be changed. Strongly worded ripostes were exchanged. A comparison to Stalin was floated.</p>
<p>But eventually, we all came together to resolve the dispute amicably. In a paper <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000736">published this month</a>, we proposed a new set of principles to guide what one day, we hope, will be a single authoritative list of the world’s species. This would help manage and conserve them for future generations.</p>
<p>In the process, we’ve shown how a scientific stoush can be overcome when those involved try to find common ground. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Baby crocodile emerging from egg." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348831/original/file-20200722-25-hpoxlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348831/original/file-20200722-25-hpoxlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348831/original/file-20200722-25-hpoxlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348831/original/file-20200722-25-hpoxlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348831/original/file-20200722-25-hpoxlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348831/original/file-20200722-25-hpoxlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348831/original/file-20200722-25-hpoxlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scientists worked out a few differences over how to name species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Laurent Gillieron/EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How it all began</h2>
<p>In May 2017 two of the authors, Stephen Garnett and Les Christidis, published an <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/taxonomy-anarchy-hampers-conservation-1.22064">article in Nature</a>. They argued taxonomy needed rules around what should be called a species, because currently there are none. They wrote: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>for a discipline aiming to impose order on the natural world, taxonomy (the classification of complex organisms) is remarkably anarchic […] There is reasonable agreement among taxonomists that a species should represent a distinct evolutionary lineage. But there is none about how a lineage should be defined. </p>
<p>‘Species’ are often created or dismissed arbitrarily, according to the individual taxonomist’s adherence to one of at least 30 definitions. Crucially, there is no global oversight of taxonomic decisions — researchers can ‘split or lump’ species with no consideration of the consequences.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Garnett and Christidis proposed that any changes to the taxonomy of complex organisms be overseen by the highest body in the global governance of biology, the International Union of Biological Sciences (<a href="https://www.iubs.org/">IUBS</a>), which would “restrict […] freedom of taxonomic action.” </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/taxonomy-the-science-of-naming-things-is-under-threat-106691">Taxonomy, the science of naming things, is under threat</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>An animated response</h2>
<p>Garnett and Christidis’ article raised hackles in some corners of the taxonomy world – including coauthors of this article. </p>
<p>These critics rejected the description of taxonomy as “anarchic”. In fact, they argued there are detailed rules around the naming of species administered by groups such as the International Commission on Zoological <a href="https://www.iczn.org/">Nomenclature</a> and the International Code of <a href="https://www.iapt-taxon.org/nomen/main.php">Nomenclature</a> for algae, fungi, and plants. For 125 years, the codes have been almost universally adopted by scientists. </p>
<p>So in March 2018, 183 researchers – led by Scott Thomson and Richard Pyle – wrote an animated response to the Nature article, published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2005075">PLoS Biology</a>. </p>
<p>They wrote that Garnett and Christidis’ IUBS proposal was “flawed in terms of scientific integrity […] but is also untenable in practice”. They argued:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Through taxonomic research, our understanding of biodiversity and classifications of living organisms will continue to progress. Any system that restricts such progress runs counter to basic scientific principles, which rely on peer review and subsequent acceptance or rejection by the community, rather than third-party regulation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In a separate paper, another group of taxonomists <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319422386_What_really_hampers_taxonomy_and_conservation_A_riposte_to_Garnett_and_Christidis_2017">accused</a> Garnett and Christidis of trying to suppress freedom of scientific thought, likening them to Stalin’s science advisor Trofim Lysenko.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Sea sponge under a microscope" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348826/original/file-20200722-25-11fp31v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348826/original/file-20200722-25-11fp31v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348826/original/file-20200722-25-11fp31v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348826/original/file-20200722-25-11fp31v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348826/original/file-20200722-25-11fp31v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348826/original/file-20200722-25-11fp31v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348826/original/file-20200722-25-11fp31v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Taxonomy can influence how conservation funding is allocated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland Museum</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Finding common ground</h2>
<p>This might have been the end of it. But the editor at PLoS Biology, Roli Roberts, wanted to turn consternation into constructive debate, and invited <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2005249">a response</a> from Garnett and Christidis. In the to and fro of articles, we all found common ground. </p>
<p>We recognised the powerful need for a global list of species – representing a consensus view of the world’s taxonomists at a particular time.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/summer-bushfires-how-are-the-plant-and-animal-survivors-6-months-on-we-mapped-their-recovery-142551">Summer bushfires: how are the plant and animal survivors 6 months on? We mapped their recovery</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Such lists do exist. The <a href="https://www.catalogueoflife.org/">Catalogue of Life</a>, for example, has done a remarkable job in assembling lists of almost all the world’s species. But there are no rules on how to choose between competing lists of validly named species. What was needed, we agreed, was principles governing what can be included on lists. </p>
<p>As it stands now, anyone can name a species, or decide which to recognise as valid and which not. This creates chaos. It means international agreements on biodiversity conservation, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (<a href="https://cites.org/">CITES</a>) and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (<a href="https://www.cms.int/">CMS</a>), take different taxonomic approaches to species they aim to protect.</p>
<p>We decided to work together. With funding from the IUBS, we <a href="https://www.cdu.edu.au/news/experts-gather-lead-darwin-day">held a workshop</a> in February this year at Charles Darwin University to determine principles for devising a single, agreed global list of species. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Pengiuns embracing each other." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349297/original/file-20200724-35-rv9gfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349297/original/file-20200724-35-rv9gfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349297/original/file-20200724-35-rv9gfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349297/original/file-20200724-35-rv9gfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349297/original/file-20200724-35-rv9gfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349297/original/file-20200724-35-rv9gfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349297/original/file-20200724-35-rv9gfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The sparring scientists came together to develop agreed principles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Participants came from around the world. They included taxonomists, science governance experts, science philosophers, administrators of the nomenclatural (naming) codes, and taxonomic users such as the creators of national species lists.</p>
<p>The result is a draft set of ten principles that to us, represent the ideals of global science governance. They include that:</p>
<ul>
<li>the species list be based on science and free from “non-taxonomic” interference</li>
<li>all decisions about composition of the list be transparent</li>
<li>governance of the list aim for community support and use</li>
<li>the listing process encompasses global diversity while accommodating local knowledge.</li>
</ul>
<p>The principles will now be discussed at international workshops of taxonomists and the users of taxonomy. We’ve also formed a working group to discuss how a global list might come together and the type of institution needed to look after it.</p>
<p>We hope by 2030, a scientific debate that began with claims of anarchy might lead to a clear governance system – and finally, the world’s first endorsed global list of species.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The following people provided editorial comment for this article: Aaron M Lien, Frank Zachos, John Buckeridge, Kevin Thiele, Svetlana Nikolaeva, Zhi-Qiang Zhang, Donald Hobern, Olaf Banki, Peter Paul van Dijk, Saroj Kanta Barik and Stijn Conix.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Garnett receives funding from International Union for Biological Sciences, the Australian Research Council and the National Environment Science Program</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les Christidis receives funding from the International Union for Biological Sciences. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard L. Pyle receives funding from U.S National Science Foundation, NOAA (U.S.), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Thomson is affiliated with the Chelonian Research Institute and the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. The first is a not for profit organisation, </span></em></p>A public debate recently erupted among global taxonomists. Strongly-worded ripostes were exchanged. A comparison to Stalin was floated. But eventually, they worked it out.Stephen Garnett, Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Charles Darwin UniversityLes Christidis, Professor, Southern Cross UniversityRichard L. Pyle, Associate lecturer, University of HawaiiScott Thomson, Research associate, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.