Rethinking Changing “Unethical” Names in Taxonomy: An Asian Perspective
Abstract Despite concerns from taxonomists, at least 300 plant and fungi names starting with caf[e]r- or caff[e]r- were changed to af[e]r- because of racial offensiveness. This comment offers a chronically overlooked Asian perspective on taxonomic ethics, highlighting gaps in global inclusivity and raising questions about practical challenges.
Authors
- Sergei L. Mosyakin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3570-3190)
- Chao‐Dong Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9347-3178)
- Seunghyun Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6318-4116)
- Alfried P. Vogler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2462-3718)
- Y. Miles Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4801-8624)
- Michael C. Orr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9096-3008)
- Ming Bai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9197-5900)
- Seunghwan Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3026-5328)
Institutions
- Natural History Museum (GB)
- Seoul National University (KR)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart (DE)
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution (GB)
- M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany (UA)
- Langfang Normal University (CN)
- Institute of Zoology (CN)
- Imperial College London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BioScience
- Published
- 2025-09-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf171
- Primary Topic
- Botanical Studies and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00