Dear Paul,

Is it correct that Wood named Hinnus already in 1825? I only have a
reference of 1841 (Ann. et Mag. Nat. Hist.). There are several (invalid)
emendations of Hinnites after 1821:
Hinnita Ferussac, 1822
Hinnus Gray, 1826
Hynnites Herrmannsen, 1847

Henk

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Henk H. Dijkstra (Hon. Res. Ass.)
c/o Department of Malacology, Zoological Museum, University of Amsterdam
P.O. Box 94766, 1090 GT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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Private address:
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> Van: "Monfils, Paul" <[log in to unmask]>
> Beantwoord: Conchologists of America List <[log in to unmask]>
> Datum: Thu, 8 Mar 2001 08:52:19 -0500
> Aan: [log in to unmask]
> Onderwerp: Re: Hinnites
>
> I agree with Gert - almost.  I believe Hinnites is actually derived from the
> masculine Latin noun "hinnus", meaning mule.  The suffix "-ites" added to a
> noun root means "having the nature of", or more loosely translated,
> "resembling".  Therefore, Hinnites literally means "having the nature of a
> mule", or "resembling a mule".  Just what Defrance had in mind when he named
> this genus in 1821 is not clear.  Perhaps it was a reference to the animal's
> "stubborn refusal to move" when trying to get it loose from the substrate on
> which it grows.  Or perhaps "mule" was used to indicate something large and
> bulky, the way "dog" was used to indicate something very common and
> ordinary.  Curiously, Wood actually named this genus Hinnus - mule, but he
> was too late.  Defrance had named it Hinnites five years earlier.  Odd
> though, that each of them though this mollusk was in some way "mule-like".
>
> Paul M.