Fig. 3
From: Taxonomic description curves of major lineages are influenced by biological and societal factors
Description rate anomalies. The upper panel shows the number of taxonomic groups (out of the total of 47) with deviations of > 50% from yearly description rate within five-year-intervals based on the averages of the preceding five-year-intervals, accounting for re-bounces from former deviations. The lower panel shows cumulative description curves for all taxonomic groups in grey and the averaged description curve for all groups in black. Numbers indicate years with exceptionally high yearly description rate anomalies. The blueish shaded area marks the publication of the “Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa”27 and the start of monthly publications of the “Annals of Natural History”28. Reddish shaded areas mark the First World War (1914–1918), and the Second World War (1939–1945).
