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
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