A friend is sending me 15 Blattidae sp. "African Bullet" roaches so that I can formally ID them and publish the species description in a scientific paper. The roaches originate from a domestic colony- founding members were collected from a log at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. This species has been commonly misidentified as Bantua robusta.
This is my first time writing a species description paper. Does anyone have links to existing papers that would make good examples/templates for my paper? Or advice that I could use when going about this project?
I have the details about exactly how I will perform my dissections more or less straightened out. What I am less familiar with is the process of writing the paper, and exactly what information is usually included in these papers.
Unfortunately I am in a situation where I do not have the strength to leave my house due to an infection with a serious case of late-stage Lyme disease + co-infections. I figured this might be an important factor to mention.
I am hoping to write this paper as a sort of "screw you" to my disease, and so I can continue to make progress even while I cannot attend college. Any help that anyone could offer would be incredibly valuable, and I thank you in advance!
The motivation you describe for writing the paper is not exactly what one imagines forms the basis of scientific inquiry, but it is refreshingly honest.
It would be a pleasure to help with your write up, I have described a number of Lepidoptera, so i imagine cockroaches would not be very different. You can message me and we can proceed from there.
You need to have original descriptions of the closest relatives of your new species, to start with. Then we can determine exactly how your species differs from these. Once you have this sorted out, the rest is easy.
Maybe, you are interested to use a structured online-tool for the descriptive part of your work. I have done already several descriptions of recent and fossil Lepidoptera with this tool, which allows collaborative work, as well as interaction with possible reviewers without leaving your home. For more information and for examples please see: http://www.nkis.info/taxon
if you want to discription a new species, you need to know about internaional code of zoological nomenclature. if better check http://www.iczn.org and read some article.
best wish
Thanks for the help everyone! I will check those links out right now. And Peter, I will send you a message!
The points mentioned by others are good. Once you think you have completed the description, put it in a drawer for a week and then look at it again. You may be amazed to see what you actually wrote. Proof reading is of paramount importance in taxonomic works. I've seen some very unusual descriptions over the years, none bearing any resemblance to the actual specimens.
This book might be helpful
https://books.google.com/books?id=RirhjdrD1K0C&pg=PT33&lpg=PT33&dq=species+descriptions+how+to+book&source=bl&ots=XjF7AlfzyY&sig=UKbM9N0EatNaVNX2UvgrEXjdDMI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tEarVJ2GCcaegwSg24G4Dw&ved=0CGIQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=species%20descriptions%20how%20to%20book&f=false
Hi
You could write to my friend Esteban Gutierrez, he is a very good specialist in Blattaria. Those are his emails. Is a very nice person and Ii am sure he will very happy to help you.
Here are some thoughts on species description in the 2020s:
Article When mycologists describe new species, not all relevant info...
The mycological side of things: Article How to publish a new fungal species, or name, version 3.0
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