Species description

A species description is a formal way scientists tell the world about a new kind of living thing they have found. This usually happens when a scientist writes about the discovery in a special report called a scientific publication. The description explains what the new species looks like and how it is different from others that people already know about.

For a new species to be officially recognized, the description must follow strict rules set by groups that decide how to name living things. These groups include the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature for animals, the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants for plants, and the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses for viruses.

When scientists describe a new species, they often include pictures or drawings of the actual example they studied, called type material, and say where this example is kept for others to see. The report gives the new species its official scientific name. So far, scientists have identified and described about 1.9 million species, but many more may still be out there, waiting to be discovered. Over five billion species have disappeared or gone extinct throughout the history of life on Earth.

Naming process

See also: Scientific nomenclature

When scientists discover a new species, they write a special description in a scientific journal to share their findings with the world. This description must follow certain rules to make sure everyone understands and agrees on the new species' name.

Scientists often choose names based on the species' looks, where it was found, or to honor someone. For example, a bat with two stripes might be named for its stripes, and a frog from Bolivia might be named after that country. Sometimes, names are chosen to thank people who support science, like naming a lemur after a famous actor who helped raise awareness about protecting these animals.

Species names are usually written in Latin letters, even if they come from other languages. Once a name is officially published, it usually stays the same forever, even if someone later thinks it's an unusual choice.

History

Early scientists wrote big books to describe all the animals they knew. One of the first big books was written by Aristotle around 343 BC. He described many fish and other sea creatures from his home, and he also wrote about strange mythical animals like the manticore.

Later, Pliny the Elder wrote about many animals in his book Natural History. He talked about some of the same mythical creatures as Aristotle.

In the 1100s, a book called Konungs skuggsjá described whales, seals, and sea monsters from the icy waters near Iceland. It even mentioned a mythical sea monster called hafgufu.

The person who really helped organize how we name species was Carl Linnaeus. He started this work in 1735 with his book Systema Naturae. As more species were discovered, scientists began writing shorter papers to describe just one new species instead of big books.

Modern differences

Today, scientists describe new species by following strict rules set by special guides called codes of nomenclature. These scientists study the organism carefully for a long time before describing it. Sometimes, they use something called a diagnosis to show how the new species is different from others. This diagnosis doesn’t always need to focus on the organism’s shape. Recently, some scientists have described new species without keeping a physical example, which has caused some debate.

Statistics

This section shows how many new species scientists discovered and described each year during the 2000s.