| Abstract | There is a secret pleasure in naming new species. Besides traditional etymologies recalling the sampling locality, habitat or morphology of the species, names may be tributes to some meaningful person, pop culture references and even exercises of enigmatography. Using a dataset of 48 464 spider etymologies, we tested the hypothesis that species names given by taxonomists are deeply influenced by their cultural background. Specifically, we asked whether naming practices change through space or have changed through time. In absolute terms, etymologies referring to morphology were the most frequently used. In relative terms, references to morphology peaked in 1850-1900 and then began to decline, with a parallel increase in etymologies dedicated to people and geography. We also observed a dramatic increase in etymologies referring to pop culture and other cultural aspects in 2000-2020, especially in Europe and the Americas. While such fashionable names often carry no biological information regarding the species itself, they help give visibility to taxonomy, a discipline currently facing a profound crisis in academia. Taxonomy is among the most unchanged disciplines across the last centuries in terms of tools, rules and writing style. Yet, our analysis suggests that taxonomists remain deeply influenced by their living time and space. |
| Authors | Stefano Mammola, Nathan Viel, Dylan Amiar, Atishya Mani, Christophe Hervé, Stephen B Heard, Diego Fontaneto, Julien Pétillon |
| Text | 477883 2023 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac097 spiders Taxonomic practice, creativity and fashion what s in a spider name Stefano Mammola, Nathan Viel, Dylan Amiar, Atishya Mani, Christophe Herve, Stephen B Heard, Diego Fontaneto, Julien Petillon Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research LIBRe , Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13, Helsinki 00100, Finland Molecular Ecology Group MEG , Water Research Institute IRSA , National Research Council CNR , Corso Tonolli 50, 28922 Verbania Pallanza, Italy UMR 65532 CNRS ECOBIO Ecosystemes, Biodiversite, Evolution , Universite de Rennes, F 35000, Rennes, France Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB Canada E3B 5A3 Museum d Histoire Naturelle de Paris, 45 Rue de Buffon, 75005 Paris, France Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth 6001, South Africa There is a secret pleasure in naming new species. Besides traditional etymologies recalling the sampling locality, habitat or morphology of the species, names may be tributes to some meaningful person, pop culture references and even exercises of enigmatography. Using a dataset of 48 464 spider etymologies, we tested the hypothesis that species names given by taxonomists are deeply influenced by their cultural background. Specifically, we asked whether naming practices change through space or have changed through time. In absolute terms, etymologies referring to morphology were the most frequently used. In relative terms, references to morphology peaked in 1850 1900 and then began to decline, with a parallel increase in etymologies dedicated to people and geography. We also observed a dramatic increase in etymologies referring to pop culture and other cultural aspects in 2000 2020, especially in Europe and the Americas. While such fashionable names often carry no biological information regarding the species itself, they help give visibility to taxonomy, a discipline currently facing a profound crisis in academia. Taxonomy is among the most unchanged disciplines across the last centuries in terms of tools, rules and writing style. Yet, our analysis suggests that taxonomists remain deeply influenced by their living time and space. Published version https //academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance article/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac097/7035017 mf zlac097.pdf Articolo in rivista Academic Press.. 0024 4082 Zoological journal of the Linnean Society Zoological journal of the Linnean Society Zool. j. Linn. Soc. Zoological journal of the Linnean Society. diego.fontaneto FONTANETO DIEGO stefano.mammola MAMMOLA STEFANO |
