History Main / ImprobableTaxonomySkills

* ''Film/DeepRising'': Just from brief examinations, Canton theorizes that the creatures they're fighting are gargantuan priapulids, a family of carnivorous marine worms commonly nicknamed "penis worms". More glaringly, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoia taxonomic group]] he claims they belong to is actually extinct in RealLife, being known only from fragmentary fossils. Yet he somehow describes its behavior, which would be pretty darn impossible even from a paleontologist... let alone, a cruise ship designer like him. [[spoiler: So it is probably no great surprise that he turns out to be [[SubvertedTrope completely wrong]] in his assumptions. The "creatures" are actually the tentacles belonging to a gigantic cephalopod-type creature]]. In fairness, the Ottoia do have living relatives who are all but unchanged from the prehistoric model, so extrapolating their behavior isn't a huge stretch... but he still would have been better off naming one of the still-living taxonomies. And even then, he loses points by claiming there are some species of priapulid worm that eat sharks; the largest known priapulid worm species today is only 39 centimeters long.

This is especially wrong when dealing with bacteria or other microscopic organisms since even though they may look similar at first glance, they could potentially belong to ''entirely different DOMAINS.'' And even microbes that are of the same species can look markedly different under different conditions.

-->-- '''[[RussianHumour An old joke]]'''

And a lot of them happen to look and behave very similarly to each other. Unfortunately, Hollywood thinks that any person who is sufficiently intelligent is also able to name any animal or plant they come across with its specific (and correct) Latin name, taxonomic history, habitat, diet, and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers favorite color]]. In reality, unless you happen to be a foremost expert in studying that specific creature, it's unlikely that you could say anything more about it than "Hey, that's a bug!"

SubTrope of ArtisticLicenseBiology. Contrast SmallTaxonomyPools, only well-known organisms, especially animals, show up in fiction.

-->-- '''[[RussianHumour An old anecdote]]'''

If this is only done with a single rare species, it can be viewed as just a rare bit of knowledge the person at hand happened to possess. Also, knowing your local flora and fauna often allows you to readily identify a plant or animal down to the subspecies, something that would be next to impossible if you did not know where the said plant or animal were collected. People who do a lot of hiking in a particular area would normally recognize the common species of plants and animals found in that area right away, regardless of any background in botany or biology.

SubTrope of ArtisticLicenseBiology.

* Creator/JulesVerne: Happens in many of his novels, where TheProfessor identifies and describes the characteristics of every plant or animal species the protagonists come across, as a means for Verne to [[ShownTheirWork show his work]]. Back then, however, that was what a lot of people read books for, since there was no other means of learning about them save by actually going to see them. ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'': The cake is taken by Conseil, a manservant to Prof. Arronax. He is a living classification handbook by virtue of having spent so long in scientific company. Amusingly, while Conseil has a remarkable memory for the taxonomic classification of species, he has very little idea of what they actually ''look'' like. By contrast, talented sailor and harpooner but rather BookDumb Ned Land knows nothing much about taxonomy but can recognize many species of fish by sight. As Arronax remarks, [[AllYourPowersCombined by their powers combined]] they are one extremely talented marine biologist (even if Ned insists on classifying them solely by whether or not they're good to eat).

* ''Series/{{CSI}}'' proper typically justifies the insect portion of this as Grissom is an entomologist, but has been very guilty of this with regards to the flora.

* ''Film/DeepRising'': A character swiftly identifies the man-eating worms as to their broad taxonomic group and likely behavior, despite the fact that A) he's only seen the things for a few seconds, B) [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoia the taxon in question]] is known only from fossils, and C) he's a freakin' ''cruise ship designer'', not a scientist! Amusingly, [[spoiler:he turns out to be completely wrong about what they are. It's all some sort of mutant octopoid monster, not a pack of killer worms.]]

* ''Film/JurassicPark'': Ellie, a paleobotanist, knows from a cursory glance that a certain plant is an extinct species. In all fairness, the character ''does'' have a doctorate in paleobotany, and many high-ranking and distinctive taxonomic groups of plants do have few or no living representatives (for instance, the entire phylum of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteridospermatophyta seed ferns]] has been extinct since the Eocene at the latest, and the order [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgoales Ginkgoales]] is represented by only a single living species, ''Ginkgo biloba'').

* Averted in Creator/BarbaraHambly's ''Literature/TheArmiesOfDaylight''. Rudy can instantly identify a small animal from its bones, but he was highly trained in botany/zoology/magic and the question is: 'rabbit or chicken'.
* Common in ''Literature/{{Dinoverse}}''. Known dinosaur-nerd [[TeenGenius Betram]] probably has a reasonable chance of identifying common animals and plants in his favorite part of the Mesozoic. When it's his teacher's turn, well, Mr. London knew about Betram's adventure and regeared all his classes to be about the age of the dinosaurs, so he and his students aren't jumping into things blind, but it's weird how they quickly and unambigiously identify non-stock dinosaurs like Acrocanthosaurus and Hypsilophodon. And back in the first set of books [[RebelliousSpirit Janine]], who's insightful but not markedly interested in dinosaurs, happens to know about the digestive processes of Ankylosaurus.
* Slightly done in Literature/SherlockHolmes when he correctly identifies the lion's mane jellyfish as the killer of the victim when he sees it at the bottom of a small pool. Very much justified, however, in that this is one species which is very distinctive (it's really, really big), that he'd spent a day reading up on it to confirm a vague memory, and that the victim's last words were "the lion's mane."
* Happens in many Creator/JulesVerne novels, where TheProfessor identifies and describes the characteristics of every plant or animal species the protagonists come across, as a means for Verne to [[ShownTheirWork show his work]]. Back then, however, that was what a lot of people read books for, since there was no other means of learning about them save by actually going to see them. The cake is taken by Conseil, a ''manservant'' to Prof. Arronax in ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea''. The man is a living classification handbook by virtue of having spent so long in scientific company. Amusingly, while Conseil had a remarkable memory for the taxonic classification of species, he had very little idea what they actually ''look'' like. By contrast, talented sailor and harpooner but rather BookDumb Ned Land knows nothing much about taxonomy but can recognize many species of fish by sight. As Arronax remarks, [[AllYourPowersCombined by their powers combined]] they are one extremely talented marine biologist (even if Ned insists on classifying them solely by whether or not they're good to eat).

* ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance 2'': Everyone has a comment on the monstrous and unearthly creatures you'll inevitably encounter if you tick the "Sci-Fi" option. Most mercenaries express various forms of surprise, but the medical doctors of your team will immediately start pinning down their taxonomy at first sight. (Crustacea, they seem to agree, which [[HilariousInHindsight amusingly]] makes them [[GiantEnemyCrab Giant Enemy Crabs]].)

And a lot of them happen to look and behave very similarly to each other. Unfortunately, Hollywood thinks that any person who is sufficiently intelligent is also able to name any animal or plant they come across with its specific (and correct) Latin name, taxonomic history, habitat, diet and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers favorite color]]. In reality, unless you happen to be a foremost expert in studying that specific creature, it's unlikely that you could say anything more about it than "Hey, that's a bug!"

This is especially wrong when dealing with bacteria or other microscopic organisms, since even though they may look similar at first glance, they could potentially belong to ''entirely different DOMAINS.'' And even microbes that are of the same species can look markedly different under different conditions.

With the advent of certain genetic techniques that allow scientists to specifically pin down what organism it is from analyzing its DNA, this is becoming somewhat more reasonable however, but such techniques also take time and significant computing power.

In the same vein, this also applies when somebody sees a species' scientific name and can tell you the rest of its taxonomy from that information alone. This makes sense if they are familiar with the taxon, but otherwise, since the scientific name only gives genus and species, it sticks out as serious research failure. Nor does knowing Latin tell you much from the pseudo-Latin names used in binomial nomenclature; Mephitis mephitis ("Stench stench") would probably be an animal renowned for its stink, but you wouldn't know that it's the striped skunk and not a polecat or stink beetle.

* ''Film/TheBeast'', the TV-movie adaptation of Creator/PeterBenchley's giant-squid-on-the-rampage novel ''Literature/{{Beast}}'' has the resident scientist instantly identify the squid as ''Archetuthis dux'' from a single sucker-claw and a whiff of ammonia. Especially bad because ''Architeuthis'' the giant squid ''doesn't have claws''. (The colossal squid ''Mesonychoteuthis'' does, though.) And most deep sea squid have a lot of ammonia in their systems.
* Subverted in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' where Sheldon thinks he can identify the specific species of a cricket by its chirping. He is in fact wrong, as pointed out by Howard (who spent his youth collecting insects), though Sheldon refuses to believe it. In the end they turn to an associate with a [=PhD=] in entomology to settle the dispute... who identifies the cricket's species with a cursory glance, playing the trope straight. In fact, when asked, [[PunnyName Professor Crawley]] claims he can identify every insect and arachnid in the world. There are 950,000 insect species and 50,000 arachnid species, making this claim rather unlikely. Even more so, arthropods are the single most diverse group on Earth; it is estimated that there are quite literally several ''million'' species of insects and arachnids that have ''not yet been identified'', which would make it difficult to ID "any" one finds.

** It once features a character identifying a fungus to species from a few hyphal traces. This is impossible even for trained mycologists.
** And another time, a person whose specialty is in ''art'' identifies a specific species of fungal spores thanks to having a boyfriend who studied them. That this is actually accepted in court is a major case of HollywoodLaw.
** And then there is Hodgins, for which this trope essentially defines two-thirds of his job. The other third involves doing much the same, only with particulates. He ''is'' [=PhD=]-qualified for both of these, so it makes more sense than in many of these examples.
* ''Series/CrossingJordan'' had a character (aptly nicknamed "Bug") dedicated to this trope. ANY time there were entomological traces found, ONE look was all he needed to tell what it was and how incredibly few but oh so conveniently dark and abandoned places it could be found.

* Done in ''Series/{{Monk}}'' when a rival detective is able to identify a mosquito's type and genus, as well as point out that it only appears in a specific spot in the city. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when it is revealed that he was just making it up.

* In ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance 2'', everyone has a comment on the monstrous and unearthly creatures you'll inevitably encounter if you tick the "Sci-Fi" option. Most mercenaries express various forms of surprise, but the medical doctors of your team will immediately start pinning down their taxonomy on first sight. (Crustacea, they seem to agree, which [[HilariousInHindsight amusingly]] makes them [[GiantEnemyCrab Giant Enemy Crabs]].)

* Professor Lostclock in ''Webcomic/HitmenForDestiny'' is able to name and describe the evolutionary history of more or less every animal in the multiverse.

* Jane Porter from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfTarzan'' is able to identify a ([[RaptorAttack typically grossly inaccurate and quite oversized]]) velociraptor at a glance. Worse still is that fact that she isn't a paleontologist of any sort and in fact, the series takes place before velociraptors were scientifically described and named, and many decades before they were recognized in popular public consciousness.

%% Trope was declared Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease via crowner by the Real Life Maintenance thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=19qugn3r

* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', both Kaguya and Fujiwara are able to correctly identify a lacquer tree cockroach from a quick glance. And then Karen ups the ante in the spin-off where she's able to do the same thing ''from a distance'' (though unlike the other two, her ability to do so is PlayedForLaughs).

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/AAPessimal, zoologist Johanna Smith-Rhodes can do this -- up to a point. For a [[UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica Rimwards Howondalandian]] she's got the distinction between antelopes, gazelles and deer wrong [[OurWerecreaturesAreDifferent in one particular case]] and has also misidentified spider species, with interesting consequences. But everyone has an off day in her job every so often.

* The end of chapter notes for ''Fanfic/PrehistoricParkReturnedFromExtinction'' tend to include the genus and species name of each creature rescued, something that is usually rather rare, even in the source material and other Prehistoric Park fanfiction. Some chapters include this simply for the sake of keeping things clear to the readers -- the mission to rescue dinosaurs from Jurassic North America explicitly lists [[spoiler:Big Al]] as an ''Allosaurus fragilus''. ''That'' example, though, was also because '''ALL''' ''Allosaurus'' species from that time and location were rescued (for reference, North America has ''five'' different species of ''Allosaurus'' -- ''A. fragilus'', ''A. lucasi'', ''A. jimmadseni'', ''A. atrox'', and ''A. amplus''.

* In ''Film/DeepRising'', a character swiftly identifies the man-eating worms as to their broad taxonomic group and likely behavior, despite the fact that A) he's only seen the things for a few seconds, B) [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoia the taxon in question]] is known only from fossils, and C) he's a freakin' ''cruise ship designer'', not a scientist! Amusingly, [[spoiler:he turns out to be completely wrong about what they are. It's all some sort of mutant octopoid monster, not a pack of killer worms.]]
* In ''Film/HoneyIShrunkTheKids'', the tiny kids are running away from a gigantic lawn mower and jump into a hole in the ground. Nick immediately identifies the exact species of worm that made the tunnel (despite the worm not even being present). Possibly justified in that they are in his backyard and since he is a science geek, it's at least remotely possible that he knows what species of worm lives in their area (Nick identifies it as a common earthworm, which would likely be most people's first guess anyway).
* ''Film/InLikeFlint'': From microscopic traces, Derek Flint is able to identify the residue of exotic flowers and herbs (styrax, ylang, mimosa, hyacinth, cannabis and Macedonian brawley).

* Averted in ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'', in which identifying the species of an insect pupa found on the bodies of victims is a plot point, and the professional entomologist consulted needs time and equipment to answer the question.
* In ''Film/{{Them}}'', Dr Medford identifies the exact species of a dead giant ant with a glance at the body, despite the fact that size is high on the list of characteristics used to identify ant species.

See also ArtisticLicenseBiology.

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[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', the principal of Moperville South High School apparently knows the taxonomic family of squirrels. Despite the fact that that is easily recognized by biologists, the fact that he and several others recognize the word "Sciuridae" with presumably little biology experience is notable.

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[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Jane Porter from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfTarzan'' is able to identify a ([[RaptorAttack typically grossly inaccurate and quite oversized]]) velociraptor at a glance. Worse still is that fact that she isn't a paleontologist of any sort and in fact the series takes place before velociraptors were scientifically described and named, and many decades before they were recognized in popular public consciousness.
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And a lot of them happen to look and behave very similarly to each other. Unfortunately, Hollywood thinks that any person who is sufficiently intelligent is also able to name any animal or plant they come across with its specific (and correct) Latin name, taxonomic history, habitat, diet and favorite color. In reality, unless you happen to be a foremost expert in studying that specific creature, it's unlikely that you could say anything more about it than "Hey, that's a bug!"

In the same vein, this is also when somebody sees a Latin name and can automatically tell you the rest of its taxonomy from that information. If the character is already familiar with the species or genus, this makes sense, but since the Latin name only gives genus and species, and since even a person who knows Latin generally can't determine anything about an organism without context, it sticks out as serious research failure.[[note]]Also, knowing Latin only helps so much for many names; it would let you guess that ''Mephitis mephitis'' (Stench stench) is probably a animal renowned for its stinkiness, but there are plenty of those ... skunks, polecats, stink beetles ... so ''which one''? (It's the striped skunk.)[[/note]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* In 1839, Richard Owen was sent (among other things) a 6-inch bone fragment from Australia, which he identified as belonging to a previously-unknown-to-science extinct giant bird. This turned out to be the giant Dinornis or Moa. Owen actually was an example of the aforementioned "[=PhD=]-qualified taxonomist", who specialized in paleontology and comparative anatomy, and was world-renowned for being the best comparative anatomist of his generation. Therefore, he was the ''only person in the world'' who could do this (at the time, anyway -- the generation before him had Georges Cuvier, who invented the field of comparative anatomy; Owen was even known as "The British Cuvier").
* If you live in California, it may be especially hard to identify what even birds or mammals are. Researchers there have gained the ire of the rest of the world by using genetic sequencing as evidence that local animals are in fact distinct species, even though there is no way to distinguish the species other than through genetic testing. Fortunately several reputable scientists have pointed out that genetic variation within the same species is normal and does not warrant creation of a new species, and these may go away in the near future.
* Species is, in general, a ''really'' fuzzy term, as witnessed by the fact that there are fairly acrimonious disputes over whether two animals which are pretty clearly similar but not quite identical are different ''species'', different ''subspecies'', or just different in appearance (generally called "breeds" when referring to animals, or "cultivars" when referring to plants). For many years the domestic dog was considered to be a distinct species from the wolf, but nowadays it's pretty generally accepted that they're the same species but ''may'' be different subspecies (which is an even fuzzier term). The usual definition for species is a "reproductively isolated population", but... reproductively isolated ''how''? By behavior? By geography? By physically not being able to reproduce? Then there are felids, which are frequently cross-fertile across species that are of approximately the same size, as with lions and tigers (or lions and jaguars, or lions and leopards, or leopards and tigers, or...), and in some cases the offspring ''themselves'' are fertile (many cross-species hybrids, such as mules, are sterile, but with felids this generally isn't the case).
* For a plant case similar to the felids, the Citrus family is pretty a pretty tangled mess; the most popular citrus fruits are mostly hybrids of the four (or so) original species.
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Contrast SmallTaxonomyPools.

* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamLoveIsWar'', both Kaguya and Fujiwara are able to correctly identify a lacquer tree cockroach from a quick glance. And then Karen ups the ante in the spin-off where she's able to do the same thing ''from a distance'' (though unlike the other two, her ability to do so is PlayedForLaughs).

--> -- '''[[RussianHumour An old anecdote]]'''

[[folder: Art ]]

[[folder: Fan Fic ]]

* The end of chapter notes for ''Fanfic/PrehistoricParkReturnedFromExtinction'' tend to include the genus and species name of each creature rescued, something that is usually rather rare, even in the source material and other Prehistoric Park fanfiction. Some chapters include this simply for the sake of keeping things clear to the readers - the mission to rescue dinosaurs from Jurassic North America explcitly lists [[spoiler:Big Al]] as an ''Allosaurus fragilus''. ''That'' example, though, was also because '''ALL''' ''Allosaurus'' species from that time and location were rescued (for reference, North America has ''five'' different species of ''Allosaurus'' - ''A. fragilus'', ''A. lucasi'', ''A. jimmadseni'', ''A. atrox'', and ''A. amplus''.
* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/AAPessimal, zoologist Johanna Smith-Rhodes can do this - up to a point. for a [[UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica Rimwards Howondalandian]] she's got the distinction between antelopes, gazelles and deer wrong [[OurWerecreaturesAreDifferent in one particular case]] and has also misidentified spider species, with interesting consequences. But everyone has an off day in heer job every so often.

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''Film/InLikeFlint''. From microscopic traces Derek Flint is able to identify the residue of exotic flowers and herbs (styrax, ylang, mimosa, hyacinth, cannabis and Macedonian brawley).
* ''Film/JurassicPark'': Ellie, a paleobotanist, knows from a cursory glance that a certain plant is an extinct species.
** In all fairness, the character ''does'' have a doctorate in paleobotany, and many high-ranking and distinctive taxonomic groups of plants do have few or no living representatives (for instance, the entire phylum of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteridospermatophyta seed ferns]] has been extinct since the Eocene at the latest, and the order [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgoales Ginkgoales]] is represented by only a single living species, ''Ginkgo biloba'').

* In ''Film/{{Them}}'' Dr Medford identifies the exact species of a dead giant ant with a glance at the body, despite the fact that size is high on the list of characteristics used to identify ant species.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Happens in many Creator/JulesVerne novels, where TheProfessor identifies and describes the characteristics of every plant or animal species the protagonists come across, as a means for Verne to [[ShownTheirWork show his work]].
** Back then, however, that was what a lot of people read books for, since there was no other means of learning about them save by actually going to see them.
** But the cake is taken by Conseil, a ''manservant'' to Prof. Arronax in ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea''. The man was a living classification handbook by virtue of having spent so long in scientific company.
** Amusingly, while Conseil had a remarkable memory for the taxonic classification of species, he had very little idea what they actually ''look'' like. By contrast, talented sailor and harpooner but rather BookDumb Ned Land knows nothing much about taxonomy but can recognise many species of fish by sight. As Arronax remarks, [[AllYourPowersCombined by their powers combined]] they are one extremely talented marine biologist (even if Ned insists on classifying them solely by whether or not they're good to eat).
* Slightly done in Literature/SherlockHolmes when he correctly identifies the lion's mane jellyfish as the killer of the victim when he sees it at the bottom of a small pool. Very much justified, however, in that this is one species which is very distinctive (it's really, really big), that he'd spent a day reading up on it to confirm a vague memory, and that the victim's last words were "the lion's mane."

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

** ''[[Series/{{CSINY}} New York]]'' and ''[[Series/CSIMiami Miami]]'' have not been so fortunate
* ''Series/{{Bones}}'' once featured a character identifying a fungus to species from a few hyphal traces. This is impossible even for trained mycologists.
** And another time a person whose specialty was in ''art'' identified a specific species of fungal spores thanks to having a boyfriend who studied them. That this was actually accepted in court is a major case of HollywoodLaw.
** And then there is Hodgins, for which this trope essentially defines two-thirds of his job. The other third involves doing much the same, only with particulates. He ''is'' [=PhD=]-qualified for both of these, so it makes more sense than in many of these examples.
* ''Series/CrossingJordan'' had a character (aptly nicknamed "Bug") dedicated to this trope. ANY time there were entomological traces found, ONE look was all he needed to tell what it was and how incredibly few but oh so conveniently dark and abandoned places it could be found.
* Subverted in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' where Sheldon thinks he can identify the specific species of a cricket by its chirping. He was in fact wrong, as pointed out by Howard (who spent his youth collecting insects), though Sheldon refused to believe it. In the end they turned to an associate with a [=PhD=] in entomology to settle the dispute... who identifies the cricket's species with a cursory glance, playing the trope straight. In fact, when asked, [[PunnyName Professor Crawley]] claims he can identify every insect and arachnid in the world. There are 950,000 insect species and 50,000 arachnid species, making this claim rather unlikely. Even more so, arthropods are the single most diverse group on Earth; it is estimated that there are quite literally several ''million'' species of insects and arachnids that have ''not yet been identified'', which would make it difficult to ID "any" one finds.
* Done in ''Series/{{Monk}}'' when a rival detective is able to identify a mosquito's type and genus, as well as point out that it only appears in a specific spot in the city. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when it was revealed that he was just making it up.
* ''Film/TheBeast'', the TV-movie adaptation of Creator/PeterBenchley's giant-squid-on-the-rampage novel ''Literature/{{Beast}}'' has the resident scientist instantly identify the squid as ''Archetuthis dux'' from a single sucker-claw and a whiff of ammonia. Especially bad because ''Architeuthis'' the giant squid ''doesn't have claws''. (The colossal squid ''Mesonychoteuthis'' does, though.) And most deep sea squid have a lot of ammonia in their systems.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Jane Porter from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfTarzan'' is able to identify a ([[RaptorAttack typically grossly inaccurate and quite oversized]]) velociraptor at a glance. Worse still is that fact that she isn't a paleontologist of any sort and in fact the series takes place before velociraptors were scientifically described and named, and many decades before they were recognized in popular public consciousness

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* In 1839, Richard Owen was sent (among other things) a 6-inch bone fragment from Australia, which he identified as belonging to a previously-unknown-to-science extinct giant bird. This turned out to be the giant Dinornis or Moa. Owen actually was an example of the aforementioned "[=PhD=]-qualified taxonomist", who specialized in paleontology and comparative anatomy, and was world-renowned for being the best comparative anatomist of his generation. Therefore, he was the ''only person in the world'' who could do this (at the time, anyway. The generation before him had Georges Cuvier, who invented the field of comparative anatomy. Owen was even known as "The British Cuvier").
* If you live in California it may be especially hard to identify what even birds or mammals are. Researchers there have gained the ire of the rest of the world by using genetic sequencing as evidence that local animals are in fact distinct species, even though there is no way to distinguish the species other than through genetic testing. Fortunately several reputable scientists have pointed out that genetic variation within the same species is normal and does not warrant creation of a new species, and these may go away in the near future.
* Species is, in general, a ''really'' fuzzy term, as witnessed by the fact that there are fairly acrimonious disputes over whether two animals which are pretty clearly similar but not quite identical are different ''species'', different ''subspecies'', or just different in appearance (generally called "breeds" when referring to animals, or "cultivars" when referring to plants). For many years the domestic dog was considered to be a distinct species from the wolf, but nowadays it's pretty generally accepted that they're the same species but ''may'' be different subspecies (which is an even fuzzier term). The usual definition for species is a "reproductively isolated population", but ... reproductively isolated ''how''? By behavior? By geography? By physically not being able to reproduce? Then there are felids, which are frequently cross-fertile across species that are of approximately the same size, as with lions and tigers (or lions and jaguars, or lions and leopards, or leopards and tigers, or ...), and in some cases the offspring ''themselves'' are fertile (many cross-species hybrids, such as mules, are sterile, but with felids this generally isn't the case).

* The end of chapter notes for ''Fanfic/PrehistoricParkReturnedFromExtinction'' tend to include the genus and species name of each creature rescued, something that is usually rather rare, [[UpToEleven even in the source material and other Prehistoric Park fanfiction.]] Some chapters include this simply for the sake of keeping things clear to the readers - the mission to rescue dinosaurs from Jurassic North America explcitly lists [[spoiler:Big Al]] as an ''Allosaurus fragilus''. ''That'' example, though, was also because '''ALL''' ''Allosaurus'' species from that time and location were rescued (for reference, North America has ''five'' different species of ''Allosaurus'' - ''A. fragilus'', ''A. lucasi'', ''A. jimmadseni'', ''A. atrox'', and ''A. amplus''.

** But the cake is taken by Conseil, a ''manservant'' to Prof. Arronax in ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea''. The man was a living classification handbook.
** Amusingly, while Conseil had a remarkable memory for the taxonic classification of species, he had very little idea what they actually ''look'' like. By contrast, talented sailor and harpooner but rather BookDumb Ned Land knows nothing much about taxonomy but can recognise many species of fish by sight. As Arronax remarks, [[AllYourPowersCombined by their powers combined]] they are one extremely talented marine biologist.
* Slightly done in Literature/SherlockHolmes when he correctly identifies the lion's mane jellyfish as the killer of the victim when he sees it at the bottom of a small pool. Very much justified, however, in that this is one species which is very distinctive (it's really, really big) and that the victim's last words were "the lion's mane."

* The end of chapter notes for ''Fanfic/PrehistoricPArkReturnedFromExtinction'' tend to include the genus and species name of each creature rescued, something that is usually rather rare, [[UpToEleven even in the source material and other Prehistoric Park fanfiction.]] Some chapters include this simply for the sake of keeping things clear to the readers - the mission to rescue dinosaurs from Jurassic North America explcitly lists [[spoiler:Big Al]] as an ''Allosaurus fragilus''. ''That'' example, though, was also because '''ALL''' ''Allosaurus'' species from that time and location were rescued (for reference, North America has ''five'' different species of ''Allosaurus'' - ''A. fragilus'', ''A. lucasi'', ''A. jimmadseni'', ''A. atrox'', and ''A. amplus''.