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Why do we need a standardised system for naming species?

We need to be able to identify biodiversity, which means indicating how many different species there are and telling them apart. But just as importantly, we need to be able to communicate these findings with other scientists. That's why we use a standardised naming system: the Binomial Classification system, which was developed by Carl Linnaeus more than 250 years ago.

A standardised system allows certainty that we are all referring to the same thing. Using the scientific binomial name, a person in one country can be certain they are referring to the same species as someone in another country. Common names often differ for the same species (and they rarely even exist for deep-sea animals anyway!).

What is the challenge with naming marine species?

To communicate effectively about biodiversity, we need to be able to name the species we encounter in our surveys. In the marine environment, and in the deep sea particularly, this can be tricky. We know there are many species present which are yet to be described to science (Rabone et al., 2023; Horton et al., 2025).

This is where the science of taxonomy comes in. Taxonomy covers the identification, classification, and description of species of animals and plants.

All of the following processes can be considered under the umbrella term 'taxonomy':

  • Classification of a species in the tree of life 
  • Identification of a species 
  • Discovering a new species 
  • Description of a new species 
  • Naming a new species

Taxonomic Process

In the Discovery Collections Team at NOC, we undertake all of these processes during our taxonomic work. The process of naming a species is the final part of a complex scientific study that begins with the identification and discovery of a new species.

We start the identification process by classifying what the specimen we are studying is most closely related to. For example, is it a crab or a fish? If it's a fish, what type of fish is it? Through this process, using specialist keys and guides, we eventually classify our specimen as belonging to a certain place in the tree of life, resembling those taxa most closely. We can then focus on identifying the specimen as belonging to either a known species or discovering it as a species new to science. 

The classification and identification process requires expert knowledge of that particular taxonomic group, as it often requires us to undertake detailed morphological and molecular comparisons of the specimen with the known species.

Once a new species has been discovered, then follows the process of description (molecular barcoding, imaging, dissection, illustration, description) and then the publication of this information. The name of the species is selected by the scientist doing the description work and will only become formally accepted once the paper is published.

The published name then becomes available. It will be entered into global databases (including the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) and the Barcode Of Life Database (BOLD)) and associated with type specimens in museums. It can then be used to refer to that species whenever it is identified in the future.

Publications

NOC scientists have published extensively on taxonomic research, including:

Tackling temporary names: interim solutions for the taxonomic impediment

Authors

Horton, Tammy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4250-1068; Rabone, Muriel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8351-2313; Ahyong, Shane T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2820-4158; Bieler, Rüdiger ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9554-1947; Boyko, Christopher B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2205-1488; Brandão, Simone N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3487-6129; Paulay, Gustav ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4118-9797; Simon-Lledó, Erik ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9667-2917; Boydens, Ben ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0696-2605; Decock, Wim ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2168-9471; Dekeyzer, Stefanie ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9525-2742; Delgat, Lynn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0192-1859; Vanhoorne, Bart ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6642-4725; Vandepitte, Leen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8160-7941. 2025 Tackling temporary names: interim solutions for the taxonomic impediment. Marine Biodiversity, 55 (5). 10.1007/s12526-025-01559-4

Publication year

2025

Publication type

Article

The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) through the looking glass: insights from the data management team in light of the crystal anniversary of WoRMS

Authors

Vandepitte, Leen; Dekeyzer, Stefanie; Decock, Wim; Delgat, Lynn; Boydens, Ben; Tyberghein, Lennert; Vanhoorne, Bart; Hernandez, Francisco; Mees, Jan; Horton, Tammy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4250-1068; Kroh, Andreas; Boyko, Christopher B.; Ahyong, Shane T.. 2024 The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) through the looking glass: insights from the data management team in light of the crystal anniversary of WoRMS. Hydrobiologia. 10.1007/s10750-024-05688-y

Publication year

2024

Publication type

Article

Biogeography and phylogeny of the scavenging amphipod genus Valettietta (Amphipoda: Alicelloidea), with descriptions of two new species from the abyssal Pacific Ocean

Authors

Stewart, Eva C D; Bribiesca-Contreras, Guadalupe; Weston, Johanna N J; Glover, Adrian G; Horton, Tammy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4250-1068. 2024 Biogeography and phylogeny of the scavenging amphipod genus Valettietta (Amphipoda: Alicelloidea), with descriptions of two new species from the abyssal Pacific Ocean. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 201 (4). 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae102

Publication year

2024

Publication type

Article

The World Amphipoda Database: history and progress

Authors

Horton, Tammy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4250-1068; De Broyer, Claude; Bellan-Santini, Denise; Coleman, Charles Oliver; Copilaș-Ciocianu, Denis; Corbari, Laure; Daneliya, Mikhail E.; Dauvin, Jean-Claude; Decock, Wim; Fanini, Lucia; Fišer, Cene; Gasca, Rebeca; Grabowski, Michał; Guerra-García, José M.; Hendrycks, Ed A.; Hughes, Lauren Elizabeth; Jaume, Damia; Kim, Young-Hyo; King, Rachael A.; Lo Brutto, Sabrina; Lörz, Anne-Nina; Mamos, Tomasz; Serejo, Cristiana S.; Senna, André R.; Souza-Filho, Jesser F.; Tandberg, Anne Helene S.; Thurston, Michael H.; Vader, Wim; Väinölä, Risto; Valls Domedel, Georgina; Vandepitte, Leen; Vanhoorne, Bart; Vonk, Ronald; White, Kristine N.; Zeidler, Wolfgang. 2023 The World Amphipoda Database: history and progress. Records of the Australian Museum, 75 (4). 329-342. 10.3853/j.2201-4349.75.2023.1875

Publication year

2023

Publication type

Article

Mesopelagic fishes of the North-West African Upwelling from the Discovery Collections

Publication year

2023

Publication type

Article

How many metazoan species live in the world’s largest mineral exploration region?

Authors

Rabone, Muriel; Wiethase, Joris H.; Simon-Lledó, Erik ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9667-2917; Emery, Aidan M.; Jones, Daniel O.B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5218-1649; Dahlgren, Thomas G.; Bribiesca-Contreras, Guadalupe; Wiklund, Helena; Horton, Tammy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4250-1068; Glover, Adrian G.. 2023 How many metazoan species live in the world’s largest mineral exploration region? Current Biology, 33 (12). 2383-2396.e5. 10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.052

Publication year

2023

Publication type

Article

Pandora’s box in the deep sea –intraspecific diversity patterns and distribution of two congeneric scavenging amphipods

Authors

Jażdżewska, Anna M.; Horton, Tammy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4250-1068; Hendrycks, Ed; Mamos, Tomasz; Driskell, Amy C.; Brix, Saskia; Arbizu, Pedro Martínez. 2021 Pandora’s box in the deep sea –intraspecific diversity patterns and distribution of two congeneric scavenging amphipods. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8. 10.3389/fmars.2021.750180

Publication year

2021

Publication type

Article

Global gap-analysis of amphipod barcode library

Authors

Jażdżewska, Anna Maria; Tandberg, Anne Helene S.; Horton, Tammy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4250-1068; Brix, Saskia. 2021 Global gap-analysis of amphipod barcode library. PeerJ, 9. e12352. 10.7717/peerj.12352

Publication year

2021

Publication type

Article

Two new species of Vemana Barnard, 1964 (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Vemanidae) from abyssal depths in the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean

Publication year

2025

Publication type

Article

Sharing Our Knowledge

NOC scientists have actively engaged with the public and scientific community through various channels: 

  • Keynote Presentations: Dr Tammy Horton delivered a keynote presentation on taxonomy at the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Europe Symposium (BEES 2025) 
  • Species Honours: A new deep-sea amphipod species, Vemana hortonae, was named in honour of NOC taxonomist Dr Tammy Horton, recognising her contributions to deep-sea taxonomy. 
  • Media Engagement: NOC taxonomists have discussed their work in various media, including: 
    • BBC Rare Earth podcast discussing deep-sea biodiversity 
    • UKRI social media features on taxonomy research 
    • World Register of Marine Species news

Further Resources

The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is the authoritative global database of marine species names, providing standardised information on marine biodiversity worldwide.