Sponsor the research to discover a new species

Not really. Although it is common practice in taxonomy for new species to be named in honor of the patrons who made the research possible, ultimately the name is at the sole discretion of the authors of the resulting scientific publication.

Sponsoring a project about the discovery of new species means that you will become a patron of the research needed to complete the official scientific publication. By providing a total or partial grant, you will be helping biologists fund the expeditions, lab work, genetic analyses, museum work, and publication costs associated with publishing their research. As a result, you will be granted an opportunity to join in the fieldwork. As a patron, you will also be honored in the resulting publication, press release, and documentary of the project. Although it is common for new species to be named in honor of patrons, ultimately the name is at the sole discretion of the authors.

The naming of species is part of the scientific process of publishing research results, which requires the writing of a manuscript and a detailed peer-review process before publication. Therefore, a lag time of 2–3 years in finalizing the species description is common.

Yes, you may choose to sponsor a project without joining the field expeditions needed to complete the research. In this scenario, researchers will typically send photographic or video reports from the front line to illustrate the work that is being done with your support.