Identify a new species that lasts for decades

The discovery of a new species is a long process, including many stages: collecting field samples, the "eureka" moment when the researcher discovers something new and ultimately Festival announcements discovered to the scientific community. In fact, from the time a new specimen was discovered until the time it was identified and announced to the world, it took an average of 21 years, according to a new study.

Individual steps in the process of discovering a new species can be very interesting, but they often happen very slowly. And at the current rate (lasting up to 21 years), researcher Benoît Fontaine from the French National Museum of Natural History said that many species can become extinct in the wild while specimens help identify them as dead, have not been studied on museum shelves and before the scientific community knows their existence.

According to Live Science, the work at the museum prompted Mr. Fontaine and his colleagues to find out how long it would take to identify and record a new species. The study of the Fontaine team found that the time for this process varied greatly, from almost instant notification to a distance of 206 years from the time of discovery to the time of identification.

Inside London Museum of Natural History. Calculate the average, from the time
point a new specimen was discovered until the time it was
identification and notification to the world lasts up to 21 years. (Photo: Live Science)

A green snakes living on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, scientifically named Tropidolaemus laticinctus, which is currently the longest record in time, is recognized as a new species. Mr. Fontaine said, this is an animal that requires extremely complex classification because the difference in the color patterns of the snake does not always correlate with the geographical characteristics of the habitat or body shape. of them.

Researchers have identified a number of factors that determine how quickly a new species is identified. Plants and vertebrates often take longer to be confirmed than other organisms. This is possible because museums often have very large collections of plants and vertebrates and insects to study, but there are relatively less fungi and non-insect vertebrates. This means that the comparison process is shorter.

When a species belongs to a recently revised scientific classification, it is likely that it will be identified more quickly. This may be because it is easier to describe organisms according to modern standards than to compare with ancient standards.

In addition, the description of new species often lasts longer when the team leader comes from rich countries, which possess more spectacular collection of specimens. New species were also identified more quickly when an amateur, not trained scientifically, discovered them.

Fontaine also blamed part of the delay in identifying a new species for erratic behavior in scientific publication. Statistics show that about 60% of new species described in books or magazines have no influencing factor (basically, how influential factors include "weight" of the publication and Do other researchers often cite it in their research report in journals? Only about 8% of new species were first described in highly influential publications. Scientists' own careers may depend on the publication of their research in highly influential journals and publications, so they have little incentive to describe new species on these Little attention paid to books and newspapers.

A study published in the 2011 Journal of Ecology and Evolution estimated that the cost of classifying all unknown species in the world would be 263.1 billion USD.

Mr. Fontaine said that speeding up the identification of species requires training of more taxonomists and streamlining methods to describe new species. Researchers will also need to spend more time traveling to the field to collect more specimens to identify more species.