03 · The apparatus
Undescribed species detection
Is there something in this cabinet nobody has named?
- Status
- Specified, unbuilt
- Field
- Thin — some prior work
- Who wants it
- Taxonomy, conservation assessment.
Why it matters
New species routinely sit in herbaria for decades between collection and description. An outlier detector over morphospace is a discovery engine pointed at material already collected.
What it needs
Reliable embeddings and a taxonomist willing to follow up the flags.
State of the art
Discussed often, deployed rarely.
Next head
Condition and pest damage →