Name a New Species...
Help name a new species…
Yep, you read that right – how would you like to be able tohelp name a new species? You’ve seen onlate-night TV that commercial to pay some company some extraorbitant amount toname a star…and of course, no-one ever sees that name because stars in thescientific community are referred to by a numerical and alphabetical code.
On the other hand, the scientific name of aspecies is the universally accepted designation for that species that is usedin every country and every society on earth. So do you want to have something that will withstand the test of time? Then find a new species, describe itscientifically in a peer-reviewed journal, and then give it a latinizedscientific name. Lucky you - we’ll takecare of the finding and describing, you get to help out with picking itsscientific name. So, how about donatingand you’ll get a chance to name a new species of insect.
The person with the highest donation amount willhave an opportunity to work with the biologist describing the species to develop a name for that new species. In addition, another person (maybe two people) will also be randomly drawn from thedonor list to help with the naming of another species. For the random drawing, a lottery will be held with your name entered for every $10 of donation that is made...in other words, a $100 donation would result in your name being entered 10 times into the lottery. The winner of the lottery gets to work with the biologist to help with the naming of that new species.
Remember, this is science so the naming process needs to occur usingtraditional nomenclature (naming) protocols and will be done in conjunctionwith the biologist describing that new species. Also remember that describing a new species requires research time as well as publication in a scientific journal so it can take a bit of time before it is acknowledged as a new species...be patient but it will happen. An interesting situation about this part of Belize is that it remains relatively unexplored in terms of its insect biodiversity - so there is the chance that these two (hopefully three) people might have a pick of species to help name!
And, a new species of insect is something you could hold inyour hand, unlike a star!
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