Tag Archives: taxonomy

World’s largest botany conference: “Care for Plants, Care for our Future”

Posted on February 7, 2018 by

What’s big, green and full of plant scientists? The International Botanical Congress, of course! This past July, in Shenzen, China, three Museum of Nature botany researchers gathered with 7000 others at the world’s largest gathering of plant scientists. Read museum researcher Jeff Saarela’s behind-the-scenes account. Continue reading →

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What’s in a Name? A Year in Taxonomy at the Canadian Museum of Nature

Posted on July 28, 2016 by

A total of 34 new species were described by museum scientists in 2015, all with new scientific names. Some of our experts even had species named after them! Continue reading →

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Minerals Are Species Too!

Posted on November 5, 2015 by

The definition of a mineral species and its classification are based on the chemistry and the atomic structure of the mineral. Consequently, defining a mineral species is more straightforward than defining a biological species. Continue reading →

Posted in Research, Rocks and minerals | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Species Discoveries in 2014 at the Canadian Museum of Nature

Posted on May 28, 2015 by

Discovery of new species is a specialty of the museum’s scientific research, and a bumper crop was named and classified in 2014. Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Fieldwork, Fossils, Plants and Algae, Research, Rocks and minerals | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Alphabet Soup of the Science World

Posted on August 5, 2014 by

Dr. Mark Graham describes the museum’s link to international efforts that conserve species and promote taxonomy. Continue reading →

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The Last “W”: Why Our Flora Is Important (and Urgently Needed)

Posted on April 5, 2012 by

During each of the last three fieldwork seasons in the North, Paul Sokoloff and his team discovered a plant species that was previously unknown in Canada, the Arctic or the local region. Continue reading →

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Time for Taxonomy

Posted on February 23, 2012 by

The Canadian Museum of Nature represents Canada and plays an active role in the international plan for the advancement of taxonomy, explains Mark Graham. Continue reading →

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Bottom Dwellers

Posted on February 23, 2011 by

At the Canadian Museum of Nature there is scientific excellence in Arctic research, a regular part of our work in the last 100 years. The museum experts unlock the stories of the natural world and one of our specialties is … Continue reading →

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Field Work

Posted on August 29, 2010 by

One of my favourite museum quotes is, “museums are organisms that ingest but do not excrete”, and is from noted museum professional Suzanne Keene. The implication is that museums are actively gobbling up specimens to the collection vaults and are … Continue reading →

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Our Six-Legged Neighbours

Posted on March 12, 2010 by

There is a famous religious reference that intersects with natural history. The British geneticist J. B. S. Haldane was asked by clerics what his studies on nature told him about God. He replied that, “the Creator seemed to have an … Continue reading →

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