"Non-professional” taxonomists were responsible for more than 60 percent of new animal descriptions in Europe from 1998 to 2007."
Scientists have not kept pace with the work of discovering new species. Now, a growing number of committed hobbyists – ranging from a Belgian bus driver to a California cybersecurity expert – are out in the field, igniting a boom in documenting the world’s biodiversity.
BY JESSICA LEBER • MARCH 12, 2019