this post was submitted on 27 Apr 2026
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[–] shawn1122@sh.itjust.works 27 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

A simple "first described by x" while not entirely true is at least a step closer to intellectual honesty.

[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 23 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

while not entirely true

Actually, that is entirely true; "describe" is a real word in taxonomy with exactly that meaning. If you describe e.g. a species, then you've formally introduced it to science.

However, for a casual audience when not expressly talking about taxonomy, e.g. "first scientifically described by X" would arguably be the best phrasing.

[–] shawn1122@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

France 24 is not a scientific publication - it's directed at a casual audience to whom describe does not inherently mean describe taxonomifally. The language has to be more precise if its looking to be intellectually honest.

[–] captcha_incorrect@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

I liked "The animal was discovered by Western science [...]".