This week there are 56,400 fewer unique species in the sea thanks to humans. Don’t get depressed though; this is a good news story.
The Census of Marine Life has announced that its huge list of marine species is half-way to completion, with over 120,000 species validated. As part of this process the scientists putting together the World Register of Marine Species have identified 56,400 aliases, including 56 for just one species: the Breadcrumb sponge, or Halichondria panacea*,
“Convincing warnings about declining fish and other marine species must rest on a valid census,” says Mark Costello, co-founder of the register (press release pdf). “… It will eliminate the misinterpretation of names, confusion over Latin spellings, redundancies and a host of other problems that sow confusion and slow scientific progress.”
It is hoped the project will be finished by the end of 2010, when the 230,000 marine species so far known to science are listed. Census scientists think there are three times more marine species out there.
“Animals on land or on the sea don’t walk around with their names on their face,” says Philippe Bouchet, of the Natural History Museum in Paris (AFP). “The history of science is full of approximations, of intuitions and of errors.”
Halichondria panacea appears to be a classic example of this. It is not surprising the organism was given so many names, says Edward vanden Berghe, census scientist and researcher at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
“It can look completely different according to the conditions in which it grows, and as a consequence, people have been describing the same thing over and over again, using a different name each time,” says Berghe (The Guardian).
Deep Sea News thinks open access taxonomy could help sort the problem:
With over 250 years of species discoveries to sift through, scientists need a complete record of the literature to accomplish this task. In my opinion, much of the problem lies in obscurity of taxonomic works. Many scientists choose to publish their work in small local museum or society journals that most people wouldn’t know existed or are very difficult to get ahold of.
Open Access (OA) Taxonomy will alleviate much of this problem.
More
Scientific American census slide show
Scientists Struggle to Keep Up With Marine Life Discoveries – LiveScience
Image: coolest fish in the sea: the sailfish / NOAA
*AKA:
Alcyonium manusdiaboli sensu Esper, 1794
Alcyonium medullare Lamarck, 1815
Amorphina appendiculata Schmidt, 1875
Amorphina grisea Fristedt, 1887
Amorphina paciscens Schmidt, 1875
Halichondria albescens Rafinesque, 1818
Halichondria ambigua Bowerbank, 1874
Halichondria brettii Bowerbank, 1866
Halichondria caduca Bowerbank, 1866
Halichondria coccinea Bowerbank, 1861
Halichondria coralloides Bowerbank, 1882
Halichondria edusa Bowerbank, 1874
Halichondria firmus Bowerbank, 1874
Halichondria glabra Bowerbank, 1866
Halichondria grisea Fristedt, 1887
Halichondria incerta Bowerbank, 1866
Halichondria lactea Bowerbank, 1866
Halichondria membrana Bowerbank, 1866
Halichondria paciscens Schmidt, 1875
Halichondria panicea Pallas, 1766
Halichondria pannosus Verrill, 1874
Halichondria papillaris Linnaeus, 1791
Halichondria reticulata Lieberkühn, 1859
Halichondria sevosa Johnston, 1842
Halichondria topsenti de Laubenfels, 1936
Halichondriella corticata Burton, 1931
Halina panicea Pallas, 1766
Hymeniacidon brettii Bowerbank, 1866
Hymeniacidon coccinea Bowerbank, 1861
Hymeniacidon fallaciosus Bowerbank, 1866
Hymeniacidon firmus Bowerbank, 1874
Hymeniacidon fragilis Bowerbank, 1866
Hymeniacidon lactea Bowerbank, 1866
Hymeniacidon membrana Bowerbank, 1866
Hymeniacidon parfitti Parfitt, 1868
Hymeniacidon reticulatus Bowerbank, 1866
Hymeniacidon solida Bowerbank, 1874
Hymeniacidon tegeticula Bowerbank, 1874
Hymeniacidon thomasii Bowerbank, 1866
Isodictya crassa Bowerbank, 1882
Isodictya perplexa Bowerbank, 1882
Menanetia minchini Topsent, 1896
Microciona tumulosa Bowerbank, 1882
Pellina bibula Schmidt, 1870
Seriatula seriata Grant, 1826
Spongia compacta Sowerby, 1806
Spongia cristata Ellis & Solander, 1786
Spongia panicea Pallas, 1766
Spongia seriata Grant, 1826
Spongia tomentosa Linnaeus, 1767
Spongia tubulosa Ellis & Solander, 1786
Spongia urens Ellis & Solander, 1786
Spuma borealis var. convoluta Miklucho-Maclay, 1870
Spuma borealis var. tuberosa Miklucho-Maclay, 1870
Spuma borealis var. velamentosa Miklucho-Maclay, 1870
Trachyopsilla glaberrima Burton, 1931
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