Friday, March 23, 2007

Linnaeus turns 300


May apparently marks the 300th birthday of Carl Linnaeus. Above is a picture of my husband at the British Museum a couple of years ago trying to engage me in a conversation with this Linnaeus look-alike. I steadfastly refused to participate but did snap this photo. Carl Jr. did not seem to know what do to with a serious taxonomic question but did seem keen on showing me the rose named after him. Or did he just name it? I don't remember actually.

Anyway, Nature has a series of articles about Linnaeus and the state of taxonomy today. Good stuff. These three articles are open to anyone (if you have access to Nature, there are more -- I especially like the one entitled the Big Name Hunters):

The legacy of Linnaeus

Linnaeus at 300: The species and the specious

Linnaeus at 300: The royal raccoon from Swedesboro


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