Word: nannarrup
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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When Hoffman took a close look, he knew he was dealing with an exotic species, and so he sent it packing to centipede experts in Italy, who named it Nannarrup hoffmani in his honor. The new centipede's closest relatives are found in East Asia, and Hoffman believes it may have made its way to the Big Apple in something as ordinary as potting soil...
That it took four years to identify Nannarrup hoffmani is a testament to how far out of favor the science of taxonomy has fallen since its heyday in the 19th century. The urge to classify the world's flora and fauna, which filled the great natural-history museums like New York City's American Museum of Natural History and Washington's Smithsonian Institution, has been eclipsed according to Hoffman by a preoccupation with molecular biology. "It's a sad situation," he says. "We're coasting on the glamour of biodiversity but losing the ability to identify the creatures on this...
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