Christopher Scharpf of the ETYFish Project (https://etyfish.org/) recently posted a revised guide to zoological nomenclature (see attached pdf file). His essay is an introduction to zoological nomenclature illustrated with names from the world of fishes (but which apply to non-fish taxa as well). Topics covered include:
- how names are formed
- how names are proposed or made “available”
- why some names (synonyms) are set aside or not used at all
- why a name that’s in use today may be replaced by a different name tomorrow
- the eight ways an ichthyologist can name a fish
- descriptive — names that refer to a physical characteristic (shape, color, anatomy, etc.)
- biological — names that refer to an aspect of biology (diet, habitat, breeding behavior, etc.)
- systematic — names that refer to taxonomy, classification or phylogenetic relationships
- anthropocentric — names that refer to a fish’s importance to humans
- commemorative — names that honor people, cultures, ships, institutions, and more
- toponymic — names that refer to places (e.g., country, river, town) or geographic areas
- vernacular — names derived from historical, local or indigenous vernaculars
- nonsensical — coined or borrowed names with little or no significance
In addition, the essay includes two mini-essays on specialized topics: 1) names so offensive, they were pulled from publication; and 2) what happens when a zoologist proposes an eponym but spells the name wrong?
Chris also has written: “Eight Ways to Name a Fish: A Native Fish Enthusiast’s Guide to Zoological Nomenclature” which will appear in the Fall 2023 issue of American Currents, Volume 48 (4):7-15) – a publication of the North American Native Fishes Association (http://www.nanfa.org/).
If you haven’t followed Chris’ website, you have missed extremely thoughtful and well-written essays on ichthyological history and the how/when/why/where/what behind the myriad of fish species that have come to be named. The ETYFish Project site is usually updated Monday-Friday with a special essay, Fish of the Week, posted every Wednesday – https://etyfish.org/name-of-the-week/. I consult it daily and so should you!
7MAR2024. I am the author of the forthcoming ebook “Pieces”, in which I explain the scientific names of all kinds of organisms. In my current draft, I write:
I used a vast number of references in writing “Pieces”. My favorite was The ETYFish Project: Fish Name Etymology Database [https://etyfish.org], a project led by United States ichthyologist and fish historian Christopher Scharpf. I acknowledge and praise The ETYFish Project for being a well-researched, highly dependable, and near-exhaustive reference for presenting trustworthy etymologies and meanings of fish taxon names. In “Pieces”, I give many of The ETYFish Project’s etymologies and meanings, where each applicable spot in “Pieces” begins with “Webpage etyfish.org/___ says.” In “Pieces”, I often write that a taxon author “did not give [this taxon’s] etymology and meaning”; Scharpf instead writes “allusion not explained.”
Ernest Newell Spencer