Guest Author • Apr 15, 2019 •
Shaena Montanari Last December, the environmental group Rainforest Trust celebrated its 30th anniversary by auctioning off the rights to name 12 newly discovered species, including orchids, frogs, and an ant. The Virginia-based nonprofit group claimed the auction raised $182,500 for its conservation programs. The most valuable animal turned out to be a wormlike amphibian from Panama, which … Read More
Guest Author • Feb 27, 2019 •
Megan Shaffer Identifying species is not as easy as it seems. Animals are generally distinguished from one another based on differences in their appearances. Generally, organisms that look the same and share similar characteristics are named the same species, and organisms that look different are classified as different species. Though seemingly simple, identifying species based on what they look like … Read More
Nic Rawlence • Nov 14, 2018 •
Museums are cathedrals of science, but they are under threat worldwide as part of a malaise of undervaluing museum collections and the field of taxonomy, the science of naming biodiversity. The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the latest example. Te Papa confirmed a restructure in July, following leaked reports. Facing … Read More
Sarah-Jane O'Connor • Nov 01, 2018 •
Phew, it’s been a busy month in the news agenda: from the IPCC’s 1.5C report to turmoil in the National party and tragedy in Wanaka and Mt Cook. Through all of that, you’d be forgiven for missing some of the excellent science-related stories that have been published over the past month. But never fear, we’ve collated some of our favourites … Read More
Nic Rawlence • Oct 26, 2018 •
On a dark and stormy Wellington street, Kerry is head down, bum up, searching for an elusive and rather dull looking snail. Kerry is one of a new breed of up-and-coming scientists that is taking up the mantle of taxonomy (the science of describing and naming new biodiversity) as members of the old guard get closer to imminent retirement. As … Read More
Nic Rawlence • Sep 26, 2017 •
‘What’s in a name? that which we call a rose. By any other word would smell as sweet’ wrote the bard when he penned Romeo and Juliet. Names are important. They evoke emotions, power, a sense of pride and ownership. Names can transcend language barriers and allow global communication of science. Naming biodiversity is no different. Recently I gave a … Read More
Guest Author • Jul 10, 2017 •
Kevin Thiele, University of Western Australia; David Yeates, CSIRO; Kym Abrams, University of Western Australia, and Nerida Wilson, Western Australian Museum Earlier this year, a Canadian scientist named a new moth species Neopalpa donaldtrumpi (read that name out loud for full effect). It’s an insect with a golden hairdo and relatively … Read More
Lynley Hargreaves • Jan 28, 2016 •
Dr Tom Trnski A November 2015 expedition to the remote, subtropical Kermadec Islands doubled the area’s number of known sponge species, with a sponges taxonomist on the team for the first time. That was exciting to see, says Auckland War Memorial Museum’s Tom Trnski, the expedition leader. But often the really interesting part, he tells us, is how species … Read More
Lynley Hargreaves • Dec 16, 2015 •
Professor Wendy Nelson Want to know whether that fruit fly is a dangerous new import? Or if the mussel you are about to eat has been feeding on toxic microalgae? Or what organisms are attached to the bottom of that boat? Call your local taxonomist. The trouble is, the few there are don’t get to spend much time … Read More
Aimee Whitcroft • Oct 16, 2013 •
One of my favourite things to do with this blog these days is to catalogue/chronicle awesome citizen science initiatives. And there’s a new one! And it’s lots of fun! In Plankton Portal, you get to help identify plankton from images taken . I’ve just started playing, and so far it’s actually trickier than it looks, but one gets added benefit … Read More