The Naming Of New Species & Naming After Ones Self

[ZoddyZod]

There is a great article in this months Prcatical Fish Keeping (UK mag) that details the scientific naming process for new species. A big 'no no' is the practice of naming any fish after yourself (apparently!).

Therefore, how come I seem to see a lot of species with some form of 'Bleher' used in the latin? I presume that this relates to Heiko Bleher which either means:

A - He is so well thought of in the community that people regularly name new fish after him.
B - He ignores the opinion of self-naming as a 'no-no'.
C - The practive of self-naming is not actually frowned upon at all and PFK have got it wrong.

anyone have any idea?

 

[BigTom]

Option A.

There's a long history of scientists naming new species after esteemed colleagues. Often, the person who names a species isn't the person who 'discovered' it either, but the one who determined it is in a fact a new species (eg, a taxonomist in a museum somewhere), in which case they may choose to name it after the discoverer.

 

[StandbySetting]

Agree with Big Tom, quite a few of the species Heiko Bleher has discovered are named after his relatives, for example Hyphessobrycon amandae was named after his late mother - Amanda.

 

[ZoddyZod]

Agree with Big Tom, quite a few of the species Heiko Bleher has discovered are named after his relatives, for example Hyphessobrycon amandae was named after his late mother - Amanda.

She is the famous aquatic plant botanist, right? I know there are a few plant species that carry her name.

Often, the person who names a species isn't the person who 'discovered' it either, but the one who determined it is in a fact a new species (eg, a taxonomist in a museum somewhere), in which case they may choose to name it after the discoverer.

ahhh, that makes a lot of sense. Curiosity abated!

thanks

 

[TwoTankAmin]

To answer your question about:

This species was the last of the three "Rummy Nose" tetras to be discovered, and this occurred in 1965 by Heiko Bleher; the species was described and named in honour of its discoverer by Gery and Mahnert in 1986.

From http/www.tropicalf.../#ixzz1lSyxL93o