Your Chance to Name a New Species
A new website was launched ealier this year that enables any member of the public to name a newly discovered species.
The website, called Name a Species, enables you to pay for the right to name a species. Half of the proceeds go directly to the researchers who describe the species. Another portion of the proceeds goes to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as part of Name a Species’ mission to protect and celebrate the world’s biological diversity.
As Name a Species points out, it’s not the first time members of the public have been given the opportunity to name a species. Last year, $2 million dollars was raised at an auction for the rights to name 10 newly discovered fish species. And In 2005 a casino paid $650,000 to name a species of monkey.
But scientists often name a species after friends, family, or even famous people. East Carolina University biologist Jason Bond recently named a new spider species after Neil Young. In 2005 U.S. President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld each had a new species of slime-mold beetle named after them.
The idea behind the Name a Species website is to make naming a species more accessible for the general public and to support the scientific community.
“While species names have been sold before, never before has naming new species been more accessible or benefited the responsible scientist so directly” says Name a Species founder, Hunter A. Williams.
”While our efforts raise awareness of the biological diversity on planet Earth, we also hope to democratize support for scientific research, and help the public to develop a closer relationship with the scientific community. When you name a species, in addition to a frame-ready certificate you will also receive a note of gratitude from the researcher who discovered the species and a copy of the peer-reviewed scientific publication that declares the new species name to the world,”
The Name a Species website contains a list of yet to be named species as well as a price for purchasing the naming rights for each species. If you’re interested in naming a species, check out nameaspecies.com.
Tags: new species
