Nomenclature – What’s really in a name?

by Sam Matchette

If I were to ask you what Captain Blackbeard, the Rocky Mountains and jeggings all have in common, what would you say? No, this is not a joke – although this would make for a very intriguing start to a ‘… walked in to a bar’ gag. The answer is simple: they each have a very appropriate and informative name. Captain Blackbeard had a beard that was (probably) black, the Rocky Mountains are certainly rocky and jeggings are the most recent descriptive portmanteau to hit our vocabulary shelves! However, the art of nomenclature (naming) isn’t always as straight forward; a point very relative in the biological world with regards to naming species; formally called Binomial nomenclature.

First and foremost, binomial nomenclature itself differs depending upon the organism you are dealing with. If you are naming animals, you would consider the International Code for Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), whereas for plants, fungi or algae you would use the – very appropriately named - International Code for Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (ICN). Both resources enforce a series of codes and rules that one must abide by, in order to maintain evidential consistency throughout the natural world.

Focusing upon the animal kingdom, the ICZN has six main principles. When a species is first discovered, it is described and given a name. The first principle, named binomial nomenclature, states that the name of any given animal is made up of two Latin names (binomen); a generic name and a specific name. Devised by Carl Linnaeus, this principle embodies all the species seen today, including Homo sapiens, Passer domesticus, Gibbula umbilicalis. This name must be unique, as claimed by the principle of homonymy. The discovered organism’s name is recorded on an ICZN database together with name of its discoverer and the date of discovery. For each species ever described on the database, there is usually a list of names (both generic and specific) provided after the first, long-standing name was put forward. These, essentially irrelevant, names are called the junior synonyms. They only come in to play if a re-classification occurs. If there is a species-split with a new population needing a name, the principle of priority ensures that the new specific name is the oldest available junior synonym. Those name conflicts that cannot be resolved using priority are resolved by the principle of first reviser; the first subsequent author decides which name(s) to use from that moment on. Slightly more confusing is the principle of coordination; which presents when a family-group name, genus-group name or species-group name is established, all other relevant groups must also simultaneously bear that name with relevant prefixes. For example, the family name Giraffidae was established, meaning that the sub-family name (should we need one) automatically becomes Giraffinae. Linking with this is the principle of typification. This claims that any family-group name must have a type (or representative) genus and any genus-group name must have a type species. For example, the family name of Giraffidae has Giraffa as its type genus (as in Giraffa camelopardalis).

Despite the terrifying formality of this process, if all principles are fulfilled, then the fun can begin. And boy, do scientists like to have fun! The beauty of needing to be unique (as the principle of homonymy requires) is that you can be as creative as you like. After all, as with everything, names come in all shapes and sizes; from the great evening bat, Ia io, to the soldier fly, Parastratiosphecomyia stratiosphecomyioides.

Longdong stream salamander 

Unsurprisingly, over the years, the concoction of creativity and taxonomy has produced some very interesting results. Usually, names originate from a description, a location, a person or an organisation relative to the organism’s discovery; however some have become remarkably tenuous and down-right crude. An example that springs to mind is the Batrachuperus longdongensis; a stream salamander with – you guessed it - an in-conspicuously long penis. Less subtle is the lily plant with the name Narcissus assoanus – discovered seemingly by a scientist with a phenomenal grudge. Scientists have even delved in to the world of popular media; notably the spider, Apopyllus now, who appears to be an avid Martin Sheen fan.

One of my personal favourites – from a devilishly, imaginative view point – is the Thorny Devil. This lizard’s scientific name is Moloch horridus; honouring the heaven-rebelling demon Moloch known to devour children, aptly comparative to the lizard’s diet of unsuspecting ants. Furthermore, many scientists have dabbled in creative word-play; creating such scientific names as the leafhopper family, Cicadellidae, which is officially the longest word with all its letters twice, or the palindromic beetle, Orizabus subaziro.

Thorny Devil

For the narcissistic among you, it may be disappointing to hear that it’s just ‘not cricket’ when you name a species after yourself. However, there are ways and means of overcoming this. The obvious being to find a friend that shares your desire to have a species named after them, and then each simultaneously discover a species that can be named after the other person. Undoubtedly fiendish, but no less true as the taxonomists Reichardt and Lange-Bertalot evidently proved; honouring each other with name-bearing species in a Diatom genus.

So, if you’re the buddy biologist type endeavouring for a life of research, you may just want to take a moment and think: what would my species name be? It may be more fun than you think. Now, “Captain Blackbeard, the Rocky Mountains and some Jeggings walk in to a bar…”

Happy grass cells!

Weird and Wonderful: The Hooker's Lips plant

Meet Psychotria elata, also known as the ‘hooker’s lips’, ‘hot Lips’ and even ‘Mick Jagger’s lips’ plant. This is not fake, it is a genine plant that can be found in the understory of tropical forests in places such as Costa Rica and Colombia. The vibrant colourful red flowers attract pollinators, including hummingbirds and butterflies. P. Elata acts as a host plant for the golden silkmoth (Xlophanes adalia).

Relics amongst us

Tom Stubbs

Meet the organisms that have outlived the Egyptian pyramids, the Roman Empire and all humanity.

As humans we are familiar with lifespans on a decadal timescale. Human life expectancies vary globally from 32 to 83 years and the oldest person ever officially recorded was a whopping 122 years old. It is amazing to think animals such as the giant tortoise can live past the age of one hundred, such as the legendary Lonesome George. Nevertheless, these lifespans are truly eclipsed by representatives from the plant kingdom.

Methuselah

The oldest individual living organism on Earth is a bristlecone pine, aptly named Methuselah, from the Hebrew Bible. This individual, hidden away in the ‘Forest of Ancients’ in the Inyo National Forest of California, is an incredible 4,800 years old. To put that into perspective, the tree must have sprouted around 2800 BC! It was already a centenarian before the first Egyptian pyramids and the Mayan civilization would not appear for 800 years. It has existed through wars and the rise and falls of civilisations, yet it still sits there humbly in the mountains of California. Bristlecone Pines are not particularly large, reaching around 50 feet, and they grow very slowly, taking around 700 years to grow 3 feet! At first glance the plant appears rather drab, but so would you if you had outlasted every other single organism on the planet.

Believe it or not, Methuselah is not the oldest recorded individual tree, there is a member of the same species that was older. This was Prometheus, which might have been 5,000 years old. Unfortunately Prometheus was felled by an enthusiastic graduate student in 1964! There is a chance that Methuselah may over take its rival and continue to live past our great-great grandchildren. Who knows, scientists might be blogging about a 6,000 years old tree in the very distant future.

Sarv-e-Abarkooh

Bristlecone pines are not the only primeval trees living amongst us. There is the giant 82 feet high cypress named Zoroastrian Sarv (or Sarv-e-Abarkooh). This individual evergreen is between 4,000 and 4,500 years old, around the same as Stonehenge! It can be found in Abarkooh, Iran.

So why do some trees live so long? Their compartmentalised vascular system helps considerably, allowing sections of the tree to deteriorate while the individual survives. They also have the ability to synthesise defensive compounds to protect against parasites and bacteria. An underlying physiological mechanism prevents genetic mutations from accumulating in their cells to the same extent as other organisms. Longevity is naturally selected as it increases the organism’s reproductive opportunities.

We have trees that have existed for thousands of years, how would you feel if I told you there are plants that may have lived for tens and hundreds of thousands of years, surely not? The exceptional trees described above are all individual units, with a single stem and root system. There are a group of plants which have evolved a clonal mode of life. This involves using many genetically identical clones stems that to the untrained eye, appear to be individual trees, but beneath the surface they are all connected in a massive network of roots. This allows these plants to defy time. The loss of a single unit stem or ‘tree’ does not mean the death of the overall organism and clonal colonies can live for incredibly long periods.

Part of the 'Pando' colony

Perhaps the most famous ancient clonal colony is ‘Pando’, a colony of Quaking Aspen in Utah. This colony is 80,000 years old, so compared to this Methuselah looks like a spring chicken! An age of 80,000 years is difficult to comprehend, but during this time our ancestors were all confined to Africa. Unbelievably some reputable estimates believe the colony could be as old as 1 million years. If so Pando would be 800,000 years older than the earliest human. Also known as the ‘The Trembling Giant’ Pando is made up of 47,000 stems that are clones of a single male aspen, when a stem dies it is simply replenished. Together this colossus weighs 6,000,000 kg making Pando the heaviest living organism on earth.

Old Tjikko

If you consider Pando a cheat for being made up of multiple stems then check out Old Tjikko. This ancient spruce tree from Sweden is 9,550 years old, twice the age of Methuselah. Unlike Pando this tree has only a single stem, so it looks like a normal tree. However, this stem is just one of many and is only 600 years old. It is a clone that is continuously replaced from an ancient root stock.

In February 2012 a new contender to the title of oldest colonial organism was announced. To find it we have to venture into the marine realm. Reports suggested a species of seagrass, Posidonia oceanica, along the Mediterranean coast is between 80,000 and 200,000 years old. It looks like a meadow but as with other clonal colonies, it is all one genetic individual. Ironically, this ancient seagrass now faces its greatest threat - humanity. Induced Mediterranean climate change is causing P. oceanica meadows to decline by around 5% each year. You will also remember that it was a freak human related accident that led to the felling of Prometheus and ‘The Senator’, previously the fifth oldest living tree, was burnt down by a woman in Florida in 2012! As a species we must be careful we do not destroy these wonderful relics.

Loo for a Shrew: A Pitcher Plant with a Difference

Frances Cartwright

Most of us will be familiar with the spectacularly evolved insect-eating pitcher plants that are found around the tropics in Malaysia, Indonesia, Borneo and the Philippines. The soil in these areas is generally low in the nutrients necessary to support plant growth, so these plants have evolved to extract nutrients from surprising sources. Typically this involves trapping unsuspecting insects that are lured by nectar to the plant then slip off the rim of the pitcher and tumble into a pool of digestive juices below. Nutrients, released from the breakdown of the catch are absorbed by the plant and used for growth. There are about 140 known species of pitcher plant that trap insects using variations on this theme. They are all members of the plant genus Nepenthes. 

One member of this family, Nepenthes lowii, uses a strikingly different method to get extra nutrients. The design of the giant, football-sized, pitcher has evolved to be a loo for a tree shrew. The lid of the pitcher is coated in thick sweet nectar that attracts the small mammal. The shrew climbs onto the pitcher to get the sugary treat and whilst indulging, deposits some faeces into the pitcher. Once it is satisfied (and empty!) it goes on its way. The funnel shape of the plant means that the next time it rains, the faeces is washed into the bottom of the pitcher where the nutrients are absorbed by the plant. It is thought that this species of plant gets between 60 and 100% of their nitrogen from tree shrew poo!

It is likely that this mutualistic relationship has been in place for some time because the pitchers are so precisely tailored to the activities of the tree shrew. Unlike the insect-catching pitcher plants that have slippery wax coating the rim of the pitcher, for the shrew’s comfort, the rim of the lowii is wax free to provide the shrew with better grip for eating and stability to protect it from unpleasant spill from within the plant.

Find out more about the science behind this phenomenon, click here.

Check out this video

Weird and Wonderful: The Technicolor tree

Tom Stubbs

Believe it or not, this isn't the work of an artist. This is the Rainbow Eucalyptus tree (Eucalyptus deglupta), famous for its exceptional colour making it look like something from Narnia. The tree is truly a living dynamic piece of natural art, but how does it get this bizarre appearance? Unlike most trees we are familiar with that have thick ‘corky’ bark, the Rainbow Eucalyptus has smooth and thin bark. It frequently exfoliates these thin layers. As the newly exposed bark ages slowly it changes colour, beginning with bright green and darker green, then bluish to purplish, then pink and orange, before it finally reaches a brownish maroon and falls off. These individual slices of bark are constantly changing at different rates meaning the tree is always changing colour and there is always a great range of colours. For obvious reasons the Rainbow Eucalyptus is a very popular ornamental plant, although it originates from the rainforests of Mindanao (Philippines). While we are on the topic of colour, check out this amazing little moth, the Rosy Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda) from North America, how cute.