From Tyrannosaurus rex to Heteropoda davidbowie scientific naming
as a joyful and creative act.
Tyrannosaurus rex. Homo sapiens. Heteropoda davidbowie. Behind
each act of scientific naming is a story. In this entertaining and
illuminating book, Michael Ohl considers scientific naming as a joyful
and creative act. There are about 1.8 million discovered and named plant
and animal species, and millions more still to be discovered. Naming is
the necessary next step after discovery; it is through the naming of
species that we perceive and understand nature. Ohl explains the
process, with examples, anecdotes, and a wildly varied cast of
characters. He describes the rules for scientific naming; the vernacular
isn't adequate. These rules--in standard binomial nomenclature, the
generic name followed by specific name--go back to Linnaeus; but they
are open to idiosyncrasy and individual expression. A lizard is
designated Barbaturex morrisoni (in honor of the Doors' Jim Morrison,
the Lizard King); a member of the horsefly family Scaptia beyonceae.
Ohl, a specialist in "winged things that sting," confesses that among
the many wasp species he has named is Ampulex dementor, after the
dementors in the Harry Potter novels. Scientific names have also been
deployed by scientists to insult other scientists, to make political
statements, and as expressions of romantic love: "I shall name this
beetle after my beloved wife."
The Art of Naming takes us on a surprising and fascinating journey, in
the footsteps of the discoverers of species and the authors of names,
into the nooks and crannies and drawers and cabinets of museums, and
through the natural world of named and not-yet-named species.
