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.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Taxonomy
Displaying 1 - 20 of 47 articles
How scientists discovered the 'Popa langur' was a separate species of just 200 monkeys.
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.
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.
From a Hugh Jackman-esque spider to honouring traditional Indigenous words, these species have memorable names.
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.
The sugar glider is an icon of the Australian bush. But discovering it's actually three distinct species has big consequences for its conservation.
The Red List ranks species based on how threatened they are. But it can be inaccurate.
Scrapping the idea of a species is an extreme idea – but perhaps a good one.
The Victorian grassland earless dragon may well be the first lizard species driven to extinction on Australia's mainland. But conservationists aren't ready to declare it dead just yet.
There are more than 850 different species of eucalypts in Australia, and possibly many more we don’t know about.
The largest of these frogs could sit happily on your thumbnail. The smallest is just longer than a grain of rice.
From the reappearance of giant bees to sightings of clouded leopards – can we ever be certain that a species has died out?
Taxonomists are becoming as rare as some of the species they work on, and this puts museum collections and conservation efforts under threat and increases the risk of biosecurity incursions.
Most animal groups adopted their shapes quickly but some kept evolving.
How can there be boom in new species discoveries while others are dying out at unprecedented rates?
India's hump-backed mahseer is one of the world's most prized game fish, yet it was a scientific enigma.
There is good news for plant conservation in South Africa and internationally.
Scientists have been naming species after well-known people since the 18th century, often in a bid for publicity. But the issue deserves attention – 400,000 Australian species are yet to be described.
Australian taxonomy resources number around 70 million specimens, valued at over AU$5 billion. That's big science.
Top contributors
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Senior lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, University of Bristol
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Team Leader, Species Interactions, Atlas of Living Australia, UNSW
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Ecologist, University of Adelaide
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Director of Food Innovation, University of Adelaide
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Adjunct Assoc. Professor, The University of Western Australia
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Emeritus Professor, University of Cape Town
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Research scientist, Technical University Braunschweig
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Susan Lawler is a Friend of The Conversation.
Associate Professor, Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University
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Honorary Associate Professor, UNSW
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Professor, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide and Chief Botanist, State Herbarium of South Australia, University of Adelaide
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Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University
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ARC Australian Laureate Professor, University of Tasmania
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Endeavour Research Fellow, Post-doctoral scholar, UNSW
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Executive Officer, National Collections & Marine Infrastructure, CSIRO
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Professorial fellow, James Cook University
