Data from: Taxonomic quality of species descriptions varies over time and with the number of authors, but unevenly among parasitic taxa

While concerns are being raised about a potential shortage of taxonomists and systematists, recent analyses suggest instead that the number of researchers involved in taxonomic descriptions is higher than ever and that the average number of new species described annually per taxonomist has declined in recent decades. Here, using nine metrics of taxonomic quality, such as the number of morphological traits measured, the number of separate line drawings included, and whether or not gene sequences are provided, we explore variation in taxonomic quality as a function of the number of authors and other potential determinants across 2366 descriptions of parasitic helminths published in 1337 articles between 1980 and 2014. Taxonomic quality has generally increased over time, but unequally among different groups of helminths. For example, the number of scanning electron micrographs per description has risen significantly over time in cestodes and nematodes, but decreased for digeneans. For most metrics used, the greater the number of authors per species description, the higher its quality, suggesting not more taxonomists but more collaborations between taxonomists and experts from other fields to produce more comprehensive species characterisations. Re-descriptions of species were of higher quality than their original descriptions, and the improved quality correlated with the number of years elapsed between them; However, the extent of this improvement varied among helminth species with different host taxa. Overall, our findings provide a note of caution for anyone using trends in the number of species described per author to extrapolate the total number of extant species. They also reveal cultural differences among taxonomists working on different groups of parasites that can serve to identify areas for potential improvement.

尽管学界对分类学家（taxonomist）与系统学家（systematist）可能出现人才短缺的问题提出了担忧，但近期的分析却显示，参与物种分类学描述研究的研究者数量较以往任何时期都更多，且近数十年来，每位分类学家每年平均描述的新物种数量有所下降。
本研究采用9项分类学质量评价指标（metrics of taxonomic quality），涵盖被测形态性状（morphological traits）数量、附属线条图（line drawings）数量以及是否提供基因序列（gene sequences）等，针对1980年至2014年间发表于1337篇论文中的2366份寄生蠕虫（parasitic helminths）分类学描述样本，探讨了分类学质量随作者数量及其他潜在影响因素的变化规律。
整体而言，分类学质量随时间推移呈上升趋势，但不同类群寄生蠕虫的质量提升幅度并不均等。例如，绦虫纲（cestodes）与线虫纲（nematodes）每份描述的扫描电子显微镜照片（scanning electron micrographs）数量随时间显著增加，而复殖吸虫纲（digeneans）的该指标却有所下降。
就多数评价指标而言，物种描述的作者数量越多，其分类学质量越高，这表明当前的核心问题并非分类学家人数不足，而是分类学家应与其他领域专家加强合作，以形成更全面的物种特征表征。
物种的重新描述质量普遍高于原始描述，且质量提升幅度与两次描述间隔的年数呈正相关；不过，该提升程度因寄生蠕虫所对应的宿主类群（host taxa）不同而存在差异。
总体而言，本研究结果对那些试图通过单作者年均描述物种数量趋势来推算现存物种（extant species）总数量的研究者提出了警示。同时，本研究还揭示了针对不同寄生类群的分类学家之间存在的学术文化差异，这可为确定潜在的质量提升方向提供依据。