Taxonomy

Olive Hilliard obituary

Other lives: South African botanist who eventually made her home in Scotland

Henry Noltie

15, Jan, 2023 @11:57 AM

‘Kingdom of the ant’: northern Australia boasts more than 5,000 species

‘It’s the global centre of diversity,’ says insect scientist who found 27 species of ant in two days in Kakadu national park

Graham Readfearn

30, Jul, 2022 @8:00 PM

Blackcap, redstart, yellowhammer: what’s in a bird’s name?

The author of a new book on the history of birds’ names found tales of conquest, myth and human endeavour

Stephen Moss

28, Apr, 2018 @11:05 PM

Last chance to study and name Australia’s vanishing species, scientists warn MPs

Australian Academy of Science launches 10-year plan to document hundreds of thousands of unknown species

Adam Morton

26, Apr, 2018 @9:51 PM

‘A different dimension of loss’: inside the great insect die-off

The long read: Scientists have identified 2 million species of living things. No one knows how many more are out there, and tens of thousands may be vanishing before we have even had a chance to encounter them

Jacob Mikanowski

14, Dec, 2017 @6:00 AM

Our native grass snake has been promoted but remains elusive

Country diary: Little Bradley Ponds, South Devon Taxonomy tussles aside, spotting any grass snake can be far from easy, and I circled the ponds several times

Charlie Elder

11, Sep, 2017 @4:30 AM

How long until all species are named after David Attenborough?

A 430m-year-old fossilised shrimp from Herefordshire has become the latest species to be named after the broadcaster, joining the pygmy locust, semi-slug, rubber frog, Amazonian butterfly ...

Tim Walker

22, Mar, 2017 @1:59 PM

Rifling through the 'wastebaskets' of palaeontology reveals surprises | Elsa Panciroli

Scientists discover previously unrecognised species among historical collections, including American bear-dogs, hoofed mammals, and British ichthyosaurs

Elsa Panciroli

26, Oct, 2016 @7:00 AM

And the award for the best species named after an actor goes to …

It’s nearly time for the Oscars. Which means it’s also time to shine the spotlight on actors and directors immortalised in zoological nomenclature

Henry Nicholls

26, Feb, 2016 @8:00 AM

Naming an animal after Gollum or Beyoncé might seem funny, but the joke’s on us | Philip Hoare

A blind cave arachnid has been named after a Lord of the Rings character soon after the naming of a golden-bottomed fly – these creatures deserve better from us homo sapiens

Philip Hoare

23, Nov, 2015 @1:49 PM

Velvet ants share warning signals with the neighbours | @GrrlScientist

GrrlScientist: North American velvet ants are one of the world’s largest complexes of mimics. Although these beautiful insects produce an intensely painful venom, neighbouring species still mimic each other’s many warning signals, a trait that effectively protects them all from predators

GrrlScientist

17, Aug, 2015 @4:00 PM

Taking flight: Cape parrot identified as new species | @GrrlScientist

GrrlScientist: The endangered cape parrot really is a distinct species, according to a newly-published molecular study -- a finding that could impact conservation decisions and strategies in South Africa for decades to come