Open Access<p class="ZootaxaTitle"><strong>I know who you are, but do others know? Why correct scientific names are so important for the biological sciences</strong></p>
Author(s) -
Pat Hutchings,
Nicolas Lavesque
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
zoosymposia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1178-9913
pISSN - 1178-9905
DOI - 10.11646/zoosymposia.19.1.16
Subject(s) - invertebrate , marine invertebrates , biology , class (philosophy) , ecology , need to know , computer science , artificial intelligence , computer security
Researchers are continuing to identify polychaetes using inappropriate references and failing to appreciate that many if not most species have restricted distributions. Using Marphysa sanguinea (Montagu, 1813) as a case example, we discuss the loss of valuable data by misidentifying a species. We suggest ways in which this problem can be addressed by both taxonomists, ecologists and other researchers. Furthermore, this situation is not unique to polychaetes but applies to many other groups of marine invertebrates.