WIREDGOV

A host of seemingly forgotten species exist in Britain but many are disappearing fast. Known only to scientists and saddled with obscure Latin names, they lack the common touch and their decline is going unnoticed as a result.

Often we don’t know what we’ve got until it’s gone, but a new competition - launched last week (Saturday 26 June) by Natural England, The Guardian and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History - aims to change that. The competition shines a light on the nation’s forgotten species by inviting the public to give them common names as an alternative to the Latin names they have had to live with to date.

Dr Tom Tew, Natural England’s Chief Scientist, said: “The things we value most are the things we connect with through our everyday lives and everyday language. Our species naming competition invites the public to pick up where the scientists and explorers have left off and give some of our forgotten species a popular identity for the first time.”

Popular names have been given to species throughout history. Frequently colourful and highly descriptive, these names have often been the best way for the public to become familiar with the species’ characteristics and behaviour. The Armadillidium, otherwise known as a woodlouse, has been colloquially named as ‘gramfy-gravy’, ‘pill bug’, ‘roly-poly’, ‘monkey pea’ or ‘cheesy bug’ in different parts of the country.

The rare Cyripedium calceolus has beautiful “shoe-shaped” flowers, eloquently described by the plant’s common name of Lady’s Slipper orchid.

The Name a species competition features 10 species of British beetle, bees, jellyfish, shrimps and lichens, all of which are endangered or threatened and all of which are waiting to be named.  The competition follows the earlier publication by Natural England of Lost life - a report that showed that 430 species have become extinct in England in the last 200 years – and the subsequent call by George Monbiot, author and The Guardian comment writer, for a competition to enable the public to become more familiar with the species that we are in danger of losing.

George Monbiot said: “Species are disappearing, unknown and unmourned – but it is hard to persuade people to care about something they can’t pronounce. We need to connect people with nature, and common and accessible names are the first step in raising people’s awareness of the wildlife around them and the importance it plays in all our lives”.

Dr George McGavin of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and one of the competition judges said: "Scientific study needs the rigour and stability of Latin names but they can sound rather cold and clinical. For most people a more memorable common name can fire the imagination. It's much easier to care about a moth called the Kentish Glory than Endromis versicolora and who wouldn't want a Brindled Beauty rather than Lycia hirtaria in their garden? Even the Bed Bug sounds a bit cosier than Cimex lectularius."

Dr Tom Tew concluded: “There are some amazing forgotten gems in this competition – many of which are every bit as threatened as well known species like the  red squirrel, but which are currently forced to decline in obscurity without any public focus on their plight.  We want to remind people of the importance of all species, because each of them has a role to play in sustaining the health of the ecosystems upon which we depend.”

Anyone can enter the Name a Species competition by reading The Guardian on 26 June in print or online at The Guardian Name a species competition . Our expert panel will judge the entries, and the winning names will be announced in a special Guardian feature on 17 July.

An exhibition at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History will open on 26 June 2010.

Notes to editors:

Photographs available from Natural England’s press office: 0845 603 9953.

For further information contact: The National Press Office on 0845 603 9953, press@naturalengland.org.uk out of hours 07970 098005.  For further information about Natural England please visit: www.naturalengland.org.uk

Name a species competition

Species on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan without common names
These 10 species are all listed on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan as priority species for conservation. In most cases, their listing on the UK BAP indicates that their population has fallen by at least 50 per cent during the past 25 years. No common name is recorded for any of these species on the BAP list, and no generally accepted English common name is thought to be in use.

1. Stenus longitarsis

• a type of camphor beetle that is able to escape predators using natural jet skis.
  
  This little black beetle is no bigger than a grain of rice. It skates on top of water, spreading its legs wide and using the water's surface tension to stop it sinking.  When alarmed, this beetle releases a chemical from its back legs that reduces the water surface tension and allows it to shoot forward using its front feet like skis.  Flexing its abdomen provides steering control and the tiny beetle jets away at a speed of 1 meter per second!

2. Arrhis phyllonyx

• a shrimp-like creature that can live in the deepest parts of our seas.
  
  This pale orange crustacean is only 2cm long, but still has 16 legs, 4 antennae and a tail!  It can live up to 1,000 metres down and is found in the sea off the coast of Orkney and Northern Ireland.  By the time they reach maturity in their third year they have shed their shells up to 14 times and they breed only once. 

3. Megapenthes lugens

• a beetle that makes a distinctive clicking sound as it escapes from predators.
  
  This large nocturnal black beetle grows to about 3cm long and lives on the decaying trunks of beech and elm trees.  It is thought to feed on the larvae of other beetles as well as flowers, and pupates in the autumn before overwintering as an adult inside its pupal case.  It is now so rare that it can be found at only one site in the UK. 

4. Cryptocephalus punctiger

• a case-bearing leaf beetle.  There are about 20 different species in the UK.
  
  This tiny creature is only 2.5mm long and has a black shell with a pale blue metallic sheen.  The larvae develop in cases and emerge onto the leaves of the birch and pussy willow trees where they live.  Adult beetles can be seen during June-July but are difficult to spot because they are so small and tend to drop to the floor if disturbed.  This very rare beetle can only be found on a small handful of sites in the UK.

5. Nomada armata

• a type of cuckoo bee, so called because it lays its eggs in the nests of other bees.
  
  This large, brownish-red coloured bee is found on chalk grasslands, where it forages on the flowers of scabious bushes. It’s a member of a group of bees that lay their eggs in the nests of other species, in this case another type of bee that gathers pollen from the same flowers. Because of the scarcity of chalk grassland in England the species is found at only a few locations, all on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.

6. Haliclystus auricula

• a beautiful stalked jellyfish that lives on the sea bed and looks a bit like coral.
  
  This funnel-shaped jellyfish grows up to 2.5cm high and can be either grey/green or red/brown in colour.  It has eight arms tipped by clusters of up to 100 short tentacles and spends all its life underwater attached to seaweed or seagrass, where the movement of the water brings it a plentiful supply of food.  To move, it uses one of its tentacles as an anchor while it cartwheels to a new position!  This jellyfish is very sensitive to pollution and has become increasingly scarce in recent years.

7. Lucernariopsis cruxmelitensis

• the smallest member of a family of species known as stalked jellyfish.
  
  This tiny creature, less than 1 cm tall, looks like an upside-down jellyfish, with its translucent bell underneath and tentacles on the top.  There are eight webbed arms within the maroon bell, with up to 35 rounded tentacles at the ends.  The stinging organs appear as distinctive white spots in the shape of a Maltese cross on the surface of the bell.  It lives on rocky shores attached to small seaweeds in places exposed to quite strong tides and currents.  Once found in high numbers on the south–west coast of England, it’s now rarely seen. 

8. Usnea florida

• belongs to a group of lichens used for centuries for their medicinal properties.
  
  This woodland plant grows like a tiny bush with delicate branches and flat spore producing discs. In the right conditions they grow up to 20cm in size, but their sensitivity to air pollution is threatening their survival.  The usnic acid it contains is a potent antibiotic and antifungal agent.  It has been used in both traditional and modern herbal medicine to heal wounds, prevent gangrene, and to treat respiratory and urinary infections.  This lichen is also edible and rich in vitamin C.

9. Peligera venosa

• a type of lichen that survives on sites with very low nutrition, such as old mines.
  
  The most impressive physical feature of this fan shaped lichen is that the main body turns green when wet.  The spore producing organs are round and either brown or black in colour.  The secret underside of the plant contains a blue-green algae which helps it to absorb essential nitrogen from the air.  You can find this lichen in upland areas of northern England and Scotland.

10. Philorhizus quadrisignatus

• a very rare ground beetle which has not been seen in the UK for over 20 years.
  
  This small, brown, ground beetle has a distinctive four-spotted pattern on its wing cases. It lives in areas of broadleaved woodland and pasture woodland where it hunts amongst dead branches and twigs. It is thought to have declined significantly over the past 40 years and is now so rare it has not been identified on any of its known sites since 1987.

About Natural England

Natural England is the government’s independent advisor on the natural environment. Established in 2006 our work is focused on enhancing England’s wildlife and landscapes and maximising the benefits they bring to the public.

• We establish and care for England’s main wildlife and geological sites, ensuring that over 4,000 National Nature Reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest are looked after and improved.

• We work to ensure that England’s landscapes are effectively protected, designating England’s National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Marine Conservation Zones, and advising widely on their conservation.

• We run England’s Environmental Stewardship green farming schemes that deliver over £400 million a year to farmers and landowners, enabling them to enhance the natural environment across two thirds of England’s farmland.

• We fund, manage, and provide scientific expertise for hundreds of conservation projects each year, improving the prospects for thousands of England’s species and habitats.

• We promote access to the wider countryside, helping establish National Trails and coastal trails and ensuring that the public can enjoy and benefit from them.