It’s hard to name a species — and even harder to rename one - Scienceline

It’s hard to name a species — and even harder to rename one - Scienceline

How does a blind cave beetle end up being named after a Nazi dictator? Or a fossil after a famous British broadcaster?  There is no one answer because the process of naming species — for both scientific and common names — is complex and inconsistent and sometimes produces names that, over time, become offensive.  Here’s what you should know about how species are named — and occasionally renamed: Why do species have both scientific and common nam…