Re: lay person)

[jamolnar@juno.com]

On Tue, 2 Sep 1997 08:49:38 -0400 (EDT) "Thomas R. Holtz, Jr."
<th81@umail.umd.edu> writes:
>At 03:42 AM 9/1/97 -0400, you wrote:
>>I am aware of very few animals who have no common names.  could you  
>list a
>>few for me (let's not use the obvious ones such as the tyrannosaurus 
>or the
>>boa).  I'd be willing to bet that most animals are called by common 
>names,
>>and these do differ in locations, that's why we have the scientific 
>names, to
>>keep it all straight.
>
>Try almost any individual species of brachiopod, nemetode, rotiferan,
>non-malacostracan crustacean, non-anthozoan cnidarian, mite, tropical
>beetle, hemichordate, ctenophore, etc. ad nauseum.  These vastly 
>outnumber
>those animal species with common names.
>
>Animals with common names tend to be: tetrapods, fish of the photic 
>zone,
>commerically valuable marine invertebrates, temperate and conspicuous
>tropical insects, and other macroscopic animals with which we have 
>obvious
>interactions.
>
And any plants of medicinal or food value, or cultivated for their
beauty.

Judy Molnar
Education Associate, Virginia Living Museum
vlmed@juno.com
jamolnar@juno.com
All questions are valid; all answers are tentative.