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Date: | Mon, 22 Dec 1997 12:01:04 -0500 |
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>If you have every collected Fighting conchs (Strombus pugilis) you will
>soon realize one reason they are called that. They are constantly
>fighting to escape from your grip, and most of the time they succeed.
Anyone who has handled a live S. pugilis certainly reaches the conclusion
that that is how it got its name. However, I think the "gladiator glove"
theory may be the correct one, and the "fighting" aspect a choice
coincidence. Linne described the species, but he certainly never saw one
alive. I very much doubt that the person who did collect it, probably a
sailor picking up shells on the beach, ever related the story of the conch's
behavior to Carl. Linne was a Renaissance type of guy, and probably knew
exactly what a gladiator's glove looked like. Are there any other Linnean
names for foreign species based on behavior? (For the same reason we can
dispel everyone's favorite - Crepidula fornicata, which is based on the word
"fornix" in reference to the arched shell).
* G Thomas Watters *
* Ohio Biological Survey & *
* Aquatic Ecology Laboratory *
* Ohio State University *
* 1315 Kinnear Rd. *
* Columbus, OH 43212 USA *
* v:614-292-6170 f:614-292-0181 *
"The world is my oyster, except for months with an "R" in them" - Firesign
Theater
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