A new way to find fame and fortune

Traditionally, taxonomists make their discoveries in the field. They cling to rock faces and find new lizards in tiny fissures. They scour the ocean floor for new and unusal crustaceans. They trek through rainforests hunting for new types of insect. At least that's how I imagine them in my head. I don't imagine them finding new species on internet auction sites. However, that's pretty much how Dr Simon Coppard identified his new sea urchin.

Urchin collecters had been buying and selling the colourful spiny creature online for a while before they approached Dr Coppard to find out what it was. He quickly spotted that it was a new species, and named it Coelopleurus Exquisitus, earning himself a place in taxonomic history. Finding fame and fortune from the comfort of your office may not be quite as dramatic is finding it on the side of cliff, but it's quite a bit cheaper and significantly less perilous. And the end result is the same. Bit of a no brainer really.

Via Radio Five Live blog. Pic borrowed from there too. Thanks, Chris.

Comments

[Alex]

Is it real? I mean has he seen the urchin and confirm that it wasn't a fake made from plastic? I'm wondering if he's been hoaxed.