Anophthalmus hitleri | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Coleoptera |
Family: | Carabidae |
Genus: | Anophthalmus |
Species: | A. hitleri |
Binomial name | |
Anophthalmus hitleri | |
Anophthalmus hitleri (Slovene : Hitlerjev brezokec) is a species of blind cave beetle found only in about fifteen humid caves in Slovenia. The blind cave beetle shares its genus with 41 other species and 95 different subspecies. [2] Members of its subfamily (Trechinae) are, like most Carabidae, predatory, so the adults and larvae of A. hitleri are presumed to be predators on smaller cave inhabitants.
The scientific name of the beetle comes from an Austrian collector, Oskar Scheibel, who was sold a specimen of a then-undocumented species in 1933. Its species name was made a dedication to Adolf Hitler, who had recently become Chancellor of Germany. [1] The dedication did not go unnoticed by Hitler, who sent Scheibel a letter showing his gratitude. [2] The genus name comes from Greek: a(n) (negation) and ofthalmos 'eye', literally "eyeless".
The species exhibits no notable characteristics, such as extravagant colors or unusual antennae, but is of interest to beetle collectors (and also collectors of Hitler memorabilia) as a result of its name. [3] Some have claimed that this is putting the beetle in danger of extinction, [4] but others believe this claim greatly exaggerates the actual threat posed by collecting. [5]
While many have suggested the species be renamed, the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature's principle of priority holds that the first name validly published for a species is its correct name, and while the ICZN strongly discourages authors from publishing names that could be considered offensive, this does not in general allow for a name perceived as offensive to be invalidated once it has been published. On the topic of A. hitleri's name, International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) President Thomas Pape says: "It was not offensive when it was proposed, and it may not be offensive 100 years from now." [6] One potential solution suggested by the vice-president of the ICZN, Patrice Bouchard, was to "change the vernacular name", [6] and in September 2023, a new vernacular name, Slovenian blind cave beetle, was proposed. [7]
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature, also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages. Such a name is called a binomial name, a binomen, binominal name, or a scientific name; more informally it is also historically called a Latin name. In the ICZN, the system is also called binominal nomenclature, "binomi'N'al" with an "N" before the "al", which is not a typographic error, meaning "two-name naming system".
The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. The rules principally regulate:
In biology, a taxon is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and given a particular ranking, especially if and when it is accepted or becomes established. It is very common, however, for taxonomists to remain at odds over what belongs to a taxon and the criteria used for inclusion, especially in the context of rank-based ("Linnaean") nomenclature. If a taxon is given a formal scientific name, its use is then governed by one of the nomenclature codes specifying which scientific name is correct for a particular grouping.
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several examples, but explicitly designated as the holotype. Under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), a holotype is one of several kinds of name-bearing types. In the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) and ICZN, the definitions of types are similar in intent but not identical in terminology or underlying concept.
Nomenclature codes or codes of nomenclature are the various rulebooks that govern the naming of living organisms. Standardizing the scientific names of biological organisms allows researchers to discuss findings.
In zoological nomenclature, the valid name of a taxon is the correct scientific name for that taxon. The valid name must be used for that taxon, regardless of any other name that may currently be used for that taxon, or may previously have been used. A name can only be valid when it is an available name under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN); if a name is unavailable, then it cannot be considered either valid or invalid.
In biology, a homonym is a name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another such name, that belongs to a different taxon.
Cacatua is a genus of cockatoos found from the Philippines and Wallacea east to the Solomon Islands and south to Australia. They have a primarily white plumage, an expressive crest, and a black or pale bill. Today, several species from this genus are considered threatened due to a combination of habitat loss and capture for the wild bird trade, with the blue-eyed cockatoo, Moluccan cockatoo, and umbrella cockatoo considered vulnerable, and the red-vented cockatoo and yellow-crested cockatoo considered critically endangered.
The great evening bat is the largest bat in the vesper bat family (Vespertilionidae) and the only living species in the genus Ia. It is common to Eastern and Southeastern Asia, mainly living in areas with limestone caves at altitudes of 400–1,700 metres (0.25–1.06 mi). Their roost sites have been found both near the cave entrances and up to 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) within the cave systems.
The oblong turtle, also known commonly as the narrow-breasted snake-necked turtle and the southwestern snake-necked turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to the southwestern part of Western Australia.
Troglocaris anophthalmus is a species of freshwater shrimp in the family Atyidae. It lives in karstic caves in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia. Although morphologically similar across its 500-kilometre (310 mi) range, molecular phylogenetics suggests that there are four or five cryptic lineages with more restricted ranges, although one such lineage does range unusually widely for a troglobite – over 300 kilometres (190 mi).
Hippotragus is a genus of antelopes which includes two living and one recently extinct species, as well as some fossil relatives. The name comes from Greek ἵππος (híppos), "horse", and τράγος (trágos), "he-goat".
Ia is a genus of bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It belongs to the subfamily Vespertilioninae and has been placed in the tribe Vespertilionini. In the past, it has also been considered a synonym or subgenus of the genera Pipistrellus or Eptesicus, which used to contain many more species than they do now. Ia comprises a single living species, the great evening bat (I. io) of eastern and southeastern Asia, and one extinct fossil species, I. lanna, from the Miocene epoch in Thailand. Another living species, I. longimana, was recognized in the past, but it is no longer considered a valid species distinct from the great evening bat.
Anophthalmus is a genus of ground beetle, endemic to Europe.
ZooBank is an open access website intended to be the official International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) registry of zoological nomenclature. Any nomenclatural acts published electronically need to be registered with ZooBank prior to publication to be "officially" recognized by the ICZN Code of Nomenclature. Acts published in physical publications are encouraged, but not required to be registered prior to their publication.
A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have been described previously or are related. To be considered valid, a species description must follow guidelines established over time. Naming requires adherence to respective codes, for example: in zoology, the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN); plants, the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN); viruses, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). The species description often contains photographs or other illustrations of type material along with a note on where they are deposited. The publication in which the species is described gives the new species a formal scientific name. Some 1.9 million species have been identified and described, out of some 8.7 million that may actually exist. Millions more have become extinct throughout the existence of life on Earth.
The book Svenska Spindlar or Aranei Svecici is one of the major works of the Swedish arachnologist and entomologist Carl Alexander Clerck and was first published in Stockholm in the year 1757. It was the first comprehensive book on the spiders of Sweden and one of the first regional monographs of a group of animals worldwide. The full title of the work is Svenska Spindlar uti sina hufvud-slägter indelte samt under några och sextio särskildte arter beskrefne och med illuminerade figurer uplyste – Aranei Svecici, descriptionibus et figuris æneis illustrati, ad genera subalterna redacti, speciebus ultra LX determinati, and included 162 pages of text and six colour plates. It was published in Swedish, with a Latin translation printed in a slightly smaller font below the Swedish text.
Oskar Scheibel (1881–1953) was an Austrian engineer and amateur entomologist who specialized in the beetles of the Yugoslavian region and specialized in cave beetles of the family Trechinae. One of the most famous beetles that he described as new to science was the now endangered blind cave beetle that he named as Anophthalmus hitleri after Adolf Hitler.
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Richard Walter Wells is an Australian herpetologist. He is known for editing the Australian Journal of Herpetology in the 1980s, in which he and C. Ross Wellington wrote and published three papers without academic peer review that proposed significant changes to the taxonomy and nomenclature of Australian reptiles and amphibians. In the 2000s, Wells self-published herpetological research in the Australian Biodiversity Record. The scientific names he proposed therein are the subject of a boycott begun in 2013 by some members of the herpetological community.