Fame from the ocean floor

The Pompeii worm, found only at hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean. For $50,000, you can name a rare hydrothermal vent worm Photo: DRI

If you have ever wanted a strange shaped creature from deep in the ocean to carry your name or the name of someone you love, now is your chance. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of Southern California is attempting to fix a hole in its budget by selling the opportunity to name new species of marine life that it discovers every year. The Institition holds several of the most important libraries of ocean specimens, and is referenced by scientists from all over the world.

Traditionally, the person who first describes a new plant or animal gets to name it. However, Scripps feels that the opportunity to name a deep sea worm or nudibranch after oneself or a respected friend or relation could be something of a moneyspinner. Although some new species have already been named, like the stout infantfish now called Schindleria brevipinguis, there are still nameless creatures waiting to be labelled.

Potential buyers can name a rare hydrothermal vent worm for $50,000, two types of worms that live on deep-sea whale bones for $25,000 each or a spiny worm that lives in the kelp fields of La Jolla cove at a mere $10,000. In addition, Scripps has several more species just waiting to be named. Buyers will receive a framed print of their organism and a copy of the scientific publication in which it is first described.

Greg Rouse, curator of an invertebrate collection at Scripps, says: "By supporting the collections through species naming, donors have an opportunity for their name, or the name of a person they love or respect, to be immortalised forever." Mr Rouse should know – a feather-duster worm from Australia, Pseudofabriciola rousei, has been named after him. He goes on: "This type of unique gift highlights the vast unknown diversity in the sea that Scripps scientists are working to document and describe."
For more details, contact the Scripps Development Office at supportscripps@ucsd.edu.