Species Names for Nobokov
Doug Yanega
dyanega at pop.ucr.edu
Mon Jan 29 12:18:43 EST 2001
>should not propose a name that, when spoken, suggests a bizarre, comical,
>or otherwise objectionable meaning." The latest version of the Code has
>modified this to read: "No author should propose a name that, to his or
>her knowledge or reasonable belief, would be likely to give offence on
>any grounds."
That being the case, Linnaeus himself is one of the worst offenders in
history, as he coined a number of truly outrageous species names based on
human male and female genitalia (a few such are on my web page, along with
numerous examples of bizarre and comical names). I think the ICZN
recommendation was mostly to discourage people from following in Linnaeus'
footsteps.
Doug Yanega Dept. of Entomology Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
phone: (909) 787-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
http://entmuseum9.ucr.edu/staff/yanega.html
"There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82
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