Taxacom: species name vs specific epithet

[Derek Sikes]

All,

Can we all stop using the term 'species' as a sometimes synonym for
'specific epithet'?

This is a super widespread problem, made all the more common by all the
database search interfaces that have a field called 'species'.

A species name is composed of 2 words. Our species name is not 'sapiens',
it is Homo sapiens.

And yet so often I see things like this -

https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwsc.nmbe.ch%2Fsearch&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C97e7f50c356d43981d0408dae9f39359%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638079529755076214%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=IpBTHHWEfruF%2FKBPd2o09KjuqAjKLNxSJDrja1rlInE%3D&reserved=0

which uses the term 'species' where it should say 'specific epithet'

And also in introductory biology textbooks where they list something like:

Genus - Homo
species - sapiens

Happy New Year!
Derek

-- 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
*Derek S. Sikes*, Curator of Insects, Professor of Entomology
University of Alaska Museum (UAM), University of Alaska Fairbanks
1962 Yukon Drive, Fairbanks, AK   99775-6960
dssikes at alaska.edu phone: 907-474-6278 he/him/his
University of Alaska Museum <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.uaf.edu%2Fmuseum%2Fcollections%2Fento%2F&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C97e7f50c356d43981d0408dae9f39359%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638079529755076214%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=065LZY8RlcFc5nMUk79Nn8G0kxGY5hNJG7nEW%2BDeIq4%3D&reserved=0>
-  search 357,704 digitized arthropod records
<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Farctos.database.museum%2Fuam_ento&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C97e7f50c356d43981d0408dae9f39359%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638079529755232440%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=I9FA4hWmx%2FesGiT64cQF7NVd3Sya8leU8zA0PCw8rIY%3D&reserved=0>
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Interested in Alaskan Entomology? Join the Alaska Entomological
Society and / or sign up for the email listserv "Alaska Entomological
Network" at
https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.akentsoc.org%2Fcontact_us&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C97e7f50c356d43981d0408dae9f39359%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638079529755232440%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Gct56LPaGjIHv0t7d2WSDnaYiiU929EhHvsNq4Po3Kc%3D&reserved=0