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An Inquisitive Look at Naming Species: ‘Charles Darwin’s Barnacle and David Bowie’s Spider’
Looking for a good read? Here is a recommendation. I have an unusual approach to reviewing books. I review books I feel merit a review. Each review is an opportunity to recommend a book. If I do not think a book is worth reading, I find another book to review. You do not have to agree with everything every author has written (I do not), but the fiction I review is entertaining (and often thought-provoking) and the non-fiction contains ideas worth reading.
People like order, especially scientists. The naming of living things has even become a science called taxonomy.
“Charles Darwin’s Barnacle and David Bowie’s Spider: How Scientific Names Celebrate Adventurers, Heroes, and Even a Few Scoundrels,” by Stephen B. Heard, looks at the naming of things, specifically the hows and why of naming living creatures for individuals.
Heard explains it started with Carl Von Linne, a man known as Carolus Linnaeus. (In the eighteenth century it was customary for scientists to Latinize their names.) He invented binomial nomenclature and scientific classification of living creatures.
Binomial nomenclature is a fancy term for two-part name. The scientific name for human beings has two parts: homo sapiens (wise man). Our species is homo (man); our genus sapiens (wise). Sorting creatures into species and genus is scientific classification. The names are Latin, bestowed by discoverers, the individuals who first bring attention to new creatures or plants by publishing a paper about them.
There is plenty to name. While names sometimes describe the characteristics of the item named (sapiens in homo sapiens as a debatable example) often discoverers name them for people. As Heard shows, therein lies a story.
A fascinating story. Heard starts by describing how naming works. The rules lack the force of law but are followed regardless. He then plunges into the bizarre world of eponymous naming: naming things for individuals.
He starts with basics. Forsythia and magnolia were named for individuals. Heard tells us who and why. He next presents more interesting examples of eponymous naming, starting with a chapter on a louse named for cartoonist Gary Larson.
Heard examines different types of names. While many species named to honor an individual (including Gary Larson’ louse), other names are intended to insult the honoree. Heard discusses that. He shows the sometimes whimsical nature of naming, naming things for celebrities, fictional characters, or oneself (a no-no according to tradition). He discusses the practice of selling names, often done to finance research.
“Charles Darwin’s Barnacle and David Bowie’s Spider” is weird and wonderful. It examines an important corner of science with a lighthearted look.
Thank God and R> for@seawriter!
Sounds like another book my husband will enjoy, and his birthday just around the corner! Thank you.
My personal favorite is the beetle of the genus Agra, named Agra Cadabra by American Entomologist Terry Erwin, who obviously has a sense of humor. Here is a picture of Agra Grace, a similar bug:
He mentioned that type of naming, but the book’s focus is on species named for people, including fictional folks.
The mention of Gary Larson reminds me of the story of the spikes on a stegosaurus, the Thagomizer. It probably not in the book since it’s a body part and not a whole species. Larson named the spikes in a cartoon and it’s been informally adopted by the scientific community.
Yeah, I figured out on my own that “scientific” nomenclature is just descriptive in a fancier language.
How can they be great panjandrums without their own super-secret code?
My sister will love that.
“Weird and wonderful” is a great recommendation for a book, I think.
Lewis and Clark have many plants named after them. I have a Lewisia rediviva in my yard.
David Douglas, an early botanical explorer in the Pacific Northwest, also has many plants named after him, including Oregon’s state tree, the Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga douglassi.
This is one of my favorite, although the more common scientific name is Pseudotsuga menziesii. The genus name, translated, means false hemlock. The species name comes from Archibald Menzies. Wikipedia describes Menzies as rival of David Douglas. Don’t know about that.
The Douglas-fir is not related to the hemlock at all, and it isn’t a true fir. So everybody loses.
Of all the scientific names I had to memorize, maybe my favorite is a fungus, Polyporous schweinitzii, just because it’s fun to say.
Everybody wins. The Doug fir is the most valuable forest species in the northwest.
Indeed. I marked & cruised many thousands. Mind you, if I spotted a Polyporous schweinitzii, I culled the entire butt log. So it’s a fun fungus to name, not so much to find.
Didn’t they have a show about polyamorous swine in Utah?
I sent a link to this post to a friend got this reply:
Never heard of Dizzy Dean? The last player in the National League to win 30 games in one season. He got beaned in one game and was rushed to the hospital. The headline the next day was “X-Rays of Deans Head Show Nothing.”
He has a chapter on this phenomena – and it is happening worldwide, not mostly at the American Museum. But, as the author points out, the money goes to sponsor expeditions, fund research, and conduct science that could not be otherwise afforded. It seems churlish to object to the exchange between a willing donor and a willing discoverer.
My friend wrote “Also, for better or worse, now wealthy people….” Is that an objection?
One of the Gashouse Gang! Also notable for saying “It ain’t bragging if you can back it up”.
“Son, what kind of pitch would you like to miss?”
Dean gets a mention in my book Vanished Houston Landmarks. He played in Houston during his minor league years.
Hate to drag this into the orbit of a certain President, but:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragramma_donaldtrumpi
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neopalpa_donaldtrumpi
“May the larva of a thousand N. donaldtrumpi infest your closet!” is going to be my go-to curse for awhile.