Mr. Henen, who has a doctorate in biology, is part of a little-known army of biologists and other scientists who manage the Mojave desert tortoise and about 420 other threatened and endangered species on about 28 million acres of federally managed military land.
The tortoise spat is one of about 60 cases presented each year to the ICZN, a little-known group that functions as the world's arbiter for animals' scientific names.