And another reason to try to give up on the common names is that they can
change from local to local.  The scientific name is relatively stable and
the same one is used by all of us.  If children can deal with the likes of
Apatosaurus, Diplodicus and Tyranosaurus can we not deal with Pecten,
Murex, Littorina, Spondylus, etc.?
 
Charlie
 
Charlie Sturm, Jr
Clinical Instructor - Family Medicine
  University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Research Associate - Section of Invertebrate Zoology
  Carnegie Museum of Natural History
 
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On Thu, 8 Jan 1998, Philip Poland wrote:
 
> Dear Wizzard,
>
> Please give up on the common names. Lots of the little ones don't even have
> them. The time you would spend in memorizing the common names (if you can
> find them) could be spent investing in what you'll eventually do anyway.
>