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The Art Of Naming

Author: Michael Ohl.

The Art Of Naming

Author: Michael Ohl.

$29.95 $2.99
Item #: D13873
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 2018
Publisher: MIT
ISBN: 9780262037761
From Tyrannosaurus rex to Heteropoda davidbowie, scientific naming is a joyful and creative act. In this entertaining, illustrated book, Michael Ohl describes how living things get their names. These rules—in standard binomial nomenclature, the generic name followed by specific name—go back to Linnaeus, but they are open to idiosyncrasy and indiv... More
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From Tyrannosaurus rex to Heteropoda davidbowie, scientific naming is a joyful and creative act. In this entertaining, illustrated book, Michael Ohl describes how living things get their names. 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. Scientists have used names to insult their rivals, to make political statements, and as expressions of romantic love: "I shall name this beetle after my beloved wife." Among the contemporary examples that Ohl cites, here are a lizard named for Jim Morrison, a horsefly paying tribute to Beyoncé, and a wasp referencing the Dementors from the Harry Potter novels.


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