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A review by kevin_shepherd
Charles Darwin's Barnacle and David Bowie's Spider: How Scientific Names Celebrate Adventurers, Heroes, and Even a Few Scoundrels by Stephen B. Heard
3.0
FUN WITH TAXONOMY
In biology, taxonomy (from the ancient Greek taxis nomia meaning ‘arrangement method’) is the scientific study of naming, defining, and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. (Wikipedia).
There is, it turns out, a fairly flexible set of guidelines when it comes to naming earth’s newly discovered flora and fauna. Stephen Heard, himself an evolutionary ecologist, brings taxonomy to the masses by highlighting some of the odd, entertaining, humorous and bizarre examples of taxonomic nomenclature.
SOME OF MY FAVORITES
Beyoncé’s Horsefly: Scaptia beyonceae
Frank Zappa’s Jellyfish: Phialella zappai
Gary Larson’s Louse: Strigiphilus garylarsoni
SpongeBob's Fungus: Spongiforma squarepantsii
Jerry Garcia’s Roach: Cryptocercus garciai
Jon Stewart’s Wasp: Aleiodes stewarti
Stephen Colbert’s Spider: Aptostichus stephencolberti
Donald Trump’s Moth: Neopalpa donaldtrumpi—Noteworthy for its yellowish head scales and its comparatively tiny genitalia.
In biology, taxonomy (from the ancient Greek taxis nomia meaning ‘arrangement method’) is the scientific study of naming, defining, and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. (Wikipedia).
There is, it turns out, a fairly flexible set of guidelines when it comes to naming earth’s newly discovered flora and fauna. Stephen Heard, himself an evolutionary ecologist, brings taxonomy to the masses by highlighting some of the odd, entertaining, humorous and bizarre examples of taxonomic nomenclature.
SOME OF MY FAVORITES
Beyoncé’s Horsefly: Scaptia beyonceae
Frank Zappa’s Jellyfish: Phialella zappai
Gary Larson’s Louse: Strigiphilus garylarsoni
SpongeBob's Fungus: Spongiforma squarepantsii
Jerry Garcia’s Roach: Cryptocercus garciai
Jon Stewart’s Wasp: Aleiodes stewarti
Stephen Colbert’s Spider: Aptostichus stephencolberti
Donald Trump’s Moth: Neopalpa donaldtrumpi—Noteworthy for its yellowish head scales and its comparatively tiny genitalia.