Nancy and all,

Well, you can see Gijs immediately demonstrated that when I said I blunder
around with scientific names I wasn't kidding.  But do not dispair, very
little of this is locked in concrete.

> Nice to teach us something about scientific names, but unfortunately, you
> make a few mistakes. Within the Strombidae there is also the genus
> Terebellum (which you omitted)

Actually, I didn't omit Terebellum as much as ignore it, as does Abbott in
the Compendium.  Gijs will probably redo the entire family some day anyway,
so I'll just stand aside.

>Olivella is no longer in Olividae, but in a
> family of its own

I didn't know this and will probably also ignore it for a while -- unless
Paul Drez raises a fuss, then I'll step up and accept it.

>and I reckon that among specialists there is some
> agreement that the family Cypraeidae (Cypraea should be pronounced as
> Kup-rea, but that's another story) has more genera that just the one genus
> Cypreae.

Cypraea (which can be pronounced a number of ways and I think I'll stick
with "sip-rea,"  thank you) has always had proponents of splitting it into a
number of genera, again I'll stick with the single genus (calling the others
subgenera) -- it's wrong but it works best for me as a non-Cypraea
specialist.


> When people start to me about scientific names, I always reply by simply
> saying: Ficus, Begonia, Anthurium, Sanseviera, Petunia, Geranium.... What
> are these?
> I always get the reply that they are names of plants. Indeed they are! And
> they sound very Dutch (NOT!).

I wish I had thought of the plant name example as it shows how the entire
naming deal is one of perception.  Scientific names for shells are only a
stumbling block because you are unfamiliar with them.  With a little use
they become clear and actually help you understand your
hobby/avocation/interest better.  Every specialized area of interest has an
associated specialized language.  Once you learn a bit of the language the
veil of mystery fades quickly.

Okay, okay, so I get carried away!  Thank you Gijs for the corrections (and
I mean that) as this is one of the real values of Conch-L.  Helps some of us
learn in spite of our valiant attempts otherwise.

Tom Eichhorst in New Mexico, USA