How Do You Name A New Species? | IFLScience The Big Questions

Every species needs a name, but it's not always straightforward how they get one.

Rachael Funnell

Senior Science Writer

Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton, and specializes in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment.View full profile

Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton, and specializes in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment.

View full profile

What goes into naming a new species? We talk to an expert to find out.

Image credit: studio f22 ricardo rocha/shutterstock.com; modified by IFLScience

The world of taxonomy is a puzzling one. Some species names are grand, some are funny, some are seemingly unoriginal. Others are a hat tip to Indigenous Peoples or geographical places, while some isolate a single scientist or celebrity. This got us wondering, how exactly do you name a species?

To find out, Senior Science Writer Rachael Funnell sat down with Professor Paul Barrett, a palaeontologist at London’s Natural History Museum who has seen taxonomy from the other side, naming new species himself. He even has a dinosaur named after him. So what does it take to name a new species?

How Do You Name A New Species?

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ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED19 hours ago

Written by Rachael Funnell