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A species description or type description is a formal description of a newly discovered 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 which have been described previously, or are related. The species description also contains photographs or other illustrations of the type material and explains in which museums the holotype (and other types such as paratypes) have been deposited. The publication in which the species is described gives the new species a formal scientific name. Today, some 1.9 million species have been discovered and named, out of some 8.7 million that may actually exist on Earth. It is customary for scientists to introduce all relevant new findings and research in a scientific paper, which is scrutinised by other scientists (peer review) and, if accepted, published in a scientific journal of the appropriate discipline; this applies to the discovery and naming of a new species or other taxon. In many cases the scientific community will not formally accept the existence of a new species until a species description has been published, even when it may seem obvious that the species is indeed new. ==Naming process== A name of a new species becomes valid with the date of publication of its formal scientific description. Once the discoverer/scientist has performed the necessary research to determine that the discovered creature represents a new and formerly undescribed species, the scientific results are summarized in a manuscript to be submitted to a scientific journal. A scientific species description to establish a new species name must fulfill several formal criteria (e.g. selection of a so-called type specimen), fixed by the ICZN or ICN. These criteria are designed to ensure that the species name is clear and unambiguous. The ICZN further states that "Authors should exercise reasonable care and consideration in forming new names to ensure that they are chosen with their subsequent users in mind and that, as far as possible, they are appropriate, compact, euphonious, memorable, and do not cause offence."〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted-sites/iczn/code/ )〕 It is a common misconception that species names must be expressed in Latin, or in Latinized English. While this is required in certain cases, it is not an absolute requirement. A species name must be expressed in the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, but many species names come from other languages - such as ''Erythroxylum coca'', which is derived from the South American Quechua language. A species name need not even be a word from any language, provided that it is not confusing or unpronounceable. So "bazzungi" might be acceptable where "gtdkrf" would not. Once the manuscript has been accepted for publication and printed,〔One example of an abstract of an article naming a new species can be found at (【引用サイトリンク】url=http://ijs.sgmjournals.org/content/early/2011/06/10/ijs.0.030767-0.abstract?sid=90908f15-6b51-4878-8663-92387c779b71 )〕 the new species name is officially created (and the new species officially existent). Once a species name has been assigned and approved, it can generally not be changed except in the case of error. For example, a species of beetle (''Anophthalmus hitleri'') was named by a German collector after Adolf Hitler in 1933 when he had recently become chancellor of Germany, with Hitler sending a letter expressing his gratitude.〔()〕 It is not clear whether such a dedication would be considered acceptable or appropriate today, but the name remains in use.〔 Religious names are not allowed, and if a species is named with a religion-related name then the name is changed at first opportunity.〔 Species names have been chosen on many different bases. Most common is a naming for the species' external appearance, its origin, or the species name is a dedication for a certain person. Examples would include a bat species named for the two stripes on its back (''Saccopteryx bilineata''), a frog named for its Bolivian origin (''Phyllomedusa boliviana''), and an ant species dedicated to the actor Harrison Ford (''Pheidole harrisonfordi''). A scientific name in honor of a person or persons is a known as a taxonomic patronym or patronymic. A number of humorous species names also exist. Literary examples include the genus name ''Borogovia'' (an extinct dinosaur), which is named after the borogove, a mythical character from Lewis Carrol's poem "Jabberwocky". A second example, ''Macrocarpaea apparata'' (a tall plant) was named after the magical spell "to apparate" from the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling, as it seemed to appear out of nowhere.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.curioustaxonomy.net/index.html )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Species description」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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