mihi itch

English

Etymology

From Latin mihī̆, dative of egō̆ (“I”), + itch.

Noun

mihi itch (uncountable)

1. (taxonomy) The ambition to publish and name large numbers of taxa as a form of personal aggrandizement.
   • 2023, Wolfgang Denzer, Hinrich Kaiser, “Naming And Gaming: The Illicit Taxonomic Practice Of 'Nomenclatural Harvesting' And How To Avoid It”, in Journal of Zoology, volume 320, number 3, page 161:

     Unscrupulous individuals can and do jump freely into taxonomy to satisfy their ‘mihi itch’ by engaging in a practice called ‘taxonomic vandalism’ creating taxon names without proper scientific work to back them up.

Further reading

• mihi itch on Wikipedia.Wikipedia