What goes into describing a new Species?

[PetrolPete]

A couple weeks ago I met with a retired paleontologist that specializes in Pennsylvanian cephalopods. I showed him all my finds from a certain site here in NE Oklahoma and he was kind of surprised with what I had found (and wasn’t finding). There were a couple common goniatites and nautiloids, a few uncommon ones and five specimens of one type of goniatite he didn’t recognize. He checked his book and still couldn’t match a suture pattern and told me it may be an undescribed species. He noted down the pattern and said he was going to double check, but if it ends up being the case, he would potentially try and get it written up.

 

So, my question is, for those of you who have been through this before or do it for a living, what all does describing a new species entail? 

[DPS Ammonite]

Did you show your cephalopods to Royal Mapes? 

 

To describe a new species you need to know all the rules, have access to all the papers and probably be an expert in the field. You also have to have access to a proper publisher that may ask for lots of money. Short of that, find an expert and co-write a paper. 

[Ramo]

It will have to be described, and published in a scientific journal.  The paper will have to be reviewed by peers that also have a lot of knowledge about this type of organism.  It will then have to be catalogued and kept in an accredited location.  Most likely a museum.   

[Peat Burns]

Pretty much everything you need to know about the process is in this book.  It's a very laborious task.

[sharkdoctor]

Some thoughts from a previous thread:

 

[hoffy]

It may also take several years

 

[Conostichus]

I'll echo DPS Ammonite.  Dr. Mapes helped me publish a new Pennsylvanian nautiloid through a working colleague Shuji Niko.  I had the choice of authorship or having the fossil named after me - I chose the latter as Grafordites mcleodi .  I did the geologic write-up and Shuji did the taxonomy - unknown family and new genus and species - a oddball specimen.  The whole process took about four years. Paleo systematics is often based entirely on hard-part morphology and something that could in theory could be done 90% by a computer program loaded with descriptors, comparative descriptions, measurements, and a checklist of questions to be answered.  Nonetheless, experience and expertise are still most important and finding someone interested in your specimen who will champion it through publication is necessary.