An anthem for our times
Perhaps no moment better captures the current state of America than Ingrid Andress’ rendition of the US national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” at a Major League Baseball game on July 15 in Arlington, Texas. Following the performance, Andress admitted to being intoxicated and has since checked herself into rehab. This incident coincides with a contentious presidential election between a convicted felon and a frail and incoherent senior, perfectly reflecting the nation’s turmoil. Predictably, Andress’ music has gone viral after her unforgettable performance reflecting an unhealthy fixation on flawed individuals.
Botanists take a stand for a more inclusive future
Meanwhile, biologists attending the International Botanical Congress in Madrid have decided to purge more than 200 Latin binomials containing racial slurs related to the root “caffr-” and rename them with the innocuous “affr-” alternative.
Latin binomials are scientific names for organisms that use two terms: the genus and the species. We are Homo sapiens, and potato is Solanum tuberosum. You have to thank the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus for systematically applying the system back in the 18th century, specifically in 1753 with the publication of “Species Plantarum” and in his subsequent work “Systema Naturae,” but it has been religiously followed ever since. Incidentally, although this naming system is widely known as Linnean nomenclature, it was in fact originally developed by the brothers Gaspard and Johann Bauhin as early as 1622.
The Linnean system is not without its shortfalls as the X/Twitter hashtags #deathbytaxonomy and #witherlinneanbinoms indicate. Two modern issues plague Linnean binoms. First, instability with name changes frequently creating confusion. For instance, fungal taxonomists have adopted changing the pathogenic yeast Candida glabrata to the difficult to pronounce and recall Nakaseomyces glabrata and in some cases to Nakaseomyces glabratus. This has created confusion among medical mycologists, especially as the fungus causes diseases commonly known by clinicians as candidaemia, candidiasis and candiduria. They could have simply changed it to Candyda.
Second, the genus demarcation can be arbitrary, and splitting a genus into multiple genera can also be unhelpful. This is often controversial, even among taxonomists. A notable and recent example is the plant pathogen Phytophthora, which was the subject of debate in a recent workshop titled “The Genus Phytophthora — Don’t Change a Winning Concept?”
In any case, despite a reputation for a conservative approach to reform, plant taxonomists did it. They agreed to purge the Linnaean binomials of the offending “caffr-”. With the new revisions, species like the stunning coast coral tree, known as Erythrina caffra, will become Erythrina affra after July 28, 2024. And so on.
In addition, the attendees of the Botanical Congress Nomenclature Section voted to create a special committee to address the ethics of naming newly described plants, fungi, and algae. Starting in January 2026, this newly formed committee will have the authority to reject any new names deemed derogatory to a group of people. However, offensive names published before January 1st, 2024, will not be retroactively modified. Too bad.
The colonial roots of taxonomy
The motion adopted at the 2024 Botanical Congress stopped short of the proposal of Kevin Thiele, a plant taxonomist at the Australia National University in Canberra, who wanted existing names to be retroactively purged of reference to racist words and individuals. This echoes the unease of many taxonomists about the colonial roots of taxonomy names, notably when pre-existing indigenous names are ignored in favor of Western epithets and people.
In an influential 2020 commentary, New Zealand-based Len Norman Gillman and Shane Donald Wright proposed to critically examine taxonomic protocols in favor of assigning and reinstating indigenous names whenever possible. My colleague David Hibbett brought up this issue at the 2022 Fungal Genetics Conference, highlighting how taxonomy is often rooted in colonialism and the exploitation of indigenous biodiversity. His remarks earned him an impromptu, warm, and sustained round of applause, demonstrating that the issue resonates deeply with many scientists.
From Neopalpa donaldtrumpi to Syllipsimopodi bideni
It’s time to reassess our naming conventions. Let’s stop naming species after racists and controversial figures. Isn’t it appalling that the moth Neopalpa donaldtrumpi was named after Donald Trump, presumably because the insect’s yellowish-white head scales resemble Trump’s hair? Equally troubling is the 325-million-year-old fossil squid-like cephalopod Syllipsimopodi bideni, named after Joe Biden, aka Genocide Joe, who has been criticized for his support of the Israeli government’s destruction of Gaza and his perceived lack of empathy towards the Palestinian people. These examples highlight the need to reconsider the ethics and implications of our taxonomic practices.
While I was writing this blog, President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the upcoming US Presidential election in favor of Vice-President Kamala Harris. It turned out the cephalopod Syllipsimopodi bideni has also its issues. The status of this species, S. bideni, was disputed by Christian Klug and colleagues, who argued that the fossil should be treated as a synonym of the previously named Gordoniconus beargulchensis. Thus, Klug and colleagues effectively canceled the Biden namesake species in favor of a name that recognizes the location where the fossil originates: Bear Gulch, Montana. I suppose we can bid farewell to both Joe Biden and Syllipsimopodi bideni and embrace more acceptable alternatives.
Hail to the chief — Stop normalizing colonialism and racism
I’m not aware of any species named after Kamala Harris. As she now contends to become the first woman and multiethnic person to serve as US president, she stands in refreshing contrast to old white racist men Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Time will tell whether her policies will be any different, but her presidency bid symbolizes a significant shift.
Meanwhile, the new ethics committee of the Botanical Congress Nomenclature Section has their work cut out for them, as they strive to ensure that the names we use for species reflect our values and move away from the legacies of colonialism and racism. Let’s hope the creation of this committee will inspire taxonomists to think a little harder about the names they choose for their species and avoid normalizing colonialism and racism. We need to encourage and reward a more thoughtful and inclusive approach to naming that respects cultural and historical contexts. By doing so, we can ensure that our scientific practices align with modern values of equity and respect for all people.
Acknowledgements
This article was written with assistance from ChatGPT.
This article is available on a CC-BY license via Zenodo.
Cite as: Kamoun, S. (2024) O say can you see — Hail to the racists. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12800429
