Taxonomic Term Confusion: Difference between revisions
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(If you're having trouble remembering, remember this simple mnemonic: "[[Danny Kaye]], Please Come Over For Good Strawberries" or, if you prefer, "Dear King Phillip Came Over For Good Soup". A commonly-used one is "Dumb kids playing catch on freeways get squashed". Before "Domain" was added to the top of the list, mnemonics were "Kings Play Cards Only For Gold and Silver" and "Kings Play Chess on Fine Glass Surfaces.") |
(If you're having trouble remembering, remember this simple mnemonic: "[[Danny Kaye]], Please Come Over For Good Strawberries" or, if you prefer, "Dear King Phillip Came Over For Good Soup". A commonly-used one is "Dumb kids playing catch on freeways get squashed". Before "Domain" was added to the top of the list, mnemonics were "Kings Play Cards Only For Gold and Silver" and "Kings Play Chess on Fine Glass Surfaces.") |
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Compound variations on these terms such as "subspecies" and "superfamily" are in common use. Some taxonomists also make use of the term "tribe" for a rank intermediate between subfamily and genus. This is not just limited to fiction; in a strictly factual sense birds are technically reptiles, and the whole animal, plant, fungus distinction is being [ |
Compound variations on these terms such as "subspecies" and "superfamily" are in common use. Some taxonomists also make use of the term "tribe" for a rank intermediate between subfamily and genus. This is not just limited to fiction; in a strictly factual sense birds are technically reptiles, and the whole animal, plant, fungus distinction is being [[wikipedia:Three-domain system|rewritten]] of late so more often than not, it's hard to know the correct terminology because it always is changing. It doesn't help matters that the current system was invented before evolution was understood, and that the ranks are pretty arbitrary. One "genus" might be older and more diverse than another "family." Some scientists even want to [http://www.ohio.edu/phylocode/index.html abolish taxonomic ranks], though that's not likely to happen soon. |
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The scientific Latin name for a species consists of the genus name (capitalized), followed by the species name (in all lower case), both italicised. ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' is genus ''Tyrannosaurus'', species ''rex''; ''Homo sapiens'' is genus ''Homo'', species ''sapiens''. If the species is well known, or has already been mentioned earlier in the same work, the genus name will frequently be abbreviated to a single letter, e.g. ''T. rex'' or ''H. sapiens''. If more hairsplitting is needed, the subspecies or variety name can be appended as a third word, e.g. ''Homo sapiens sapiens''. |
The scientific Latin name for a species consists of the genus name (capitalized), followed by the species name (in all lower case), both italicised. ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' is genus ''Tyrannosaurus'', species ''rex''; ''Homo sapiens'' is genus ''Homo'', species ''sapiens''. If the species is well known, or has already been mentioned earlier in the same work, the genus name will frequently be abbreviated to a single letter, e.g. ''T. rex'' or ''H. sapiens''. If more hairsplitting is needed, the subspecies or variety name can be appended as a third word, e.g. ''Homo sapiens sapiens''. |
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== General == |
== General == |
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* Most common is using the word "race" where "species" would be more appropriate. Science-fiction series with multiple sapient alien peoples are a big offender here. |
* Most common is using the word "race" where "species" would be more appropriate. Science-fiction series with multiple sapient alien peoples are a big offender here. |
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** Fantasy settings do the same thing, but whether it's as bad in such a case is more debatable since there are often [[No Biochemical Barriers]] either. (If [[Hot Skitty |
** Fantasy settings do the same thing, but whether it's as bad in such a case is more debatable since there are often [[No Biochemical Barriers]] either. (If [[Hot Skitty-On-Wailord Action|humans and elves can interbreed]], producing fertile offspring, who's to say that they're not different races within a single species?) |
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*** It should be pointed out that the definition of species is not absolute. In rare cases seemingly very different creatures can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. A good example is the case of a false killer whale and bottle-nosed dolphin (both dolphins but very different in shape and structure) which produced a fertile calf in captivity. Animals in the same genus such as tigers and lions are even more likely to interbreed. |
*** It should be pointed out that the definition of species is not absolute. In rare cases seemingly very different creatures can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. A good example is the case of a false killer whale and bottle-nosed dolphin (both dolphins but very different in shape and structure) which produced a fertile calf in captivity. Animals in the same genus such as tigers and lions are even more likely to interbreed. |
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*** The consensus usually is that [[No Biochemical Barriers]] means they're the same species. It's also sort of determined on how often this occurs. One or two exceptions doesn't break the rule. |
*** The consensus usually is that [[No Biochemical Barriers]] means they're the same species. It's also sort of determined on how often this occurs. One or two exceptions doesn't break the rule. |
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* Referring to a group of related species (a ''genus'') as a single species. |
* Referring to a group of related species (a ''genus'') as a single species. |
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** There are two known species of ''Velociraptor'', three of ''Stegosaurus'', and two of ''Triceratops''. |
** There are two known species of ''Velociraptor'', three of ''Stegosaurus'', and two of ''Triceratops''. |
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** There is only one species of Orca now - there are several well-defined types which may need to be [ |
** There is only one species of Orca now - there are several well-defined types which may need to be [[wikipedia:Orca#Taxonomy and evolution|promoted to species]] though. |
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*** In many cases the number of species is debated by different scientists. It is also often debated about which species go into which genus, since genus itself is even less concretely defined than 'species' (i.e. to some extent species are a biological reality while all higher classifications exist only as a rather subjective human system of classification). |
*** In many cases the number of species is debated by different scientists. It is also often debated about which species go into which genus, since genus itself is even less concretely defined than 'species' (i.e. to some extent species are a biological reality while all higher classifications exist only as a rather subjective human system of classification). |
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** Referring to a species by the proper name of its family/order/etc. instead of the anglicized form. A human is not a Hominidae. A human is a hominid, a member of the family Hominidae. Doing this wrong is like referring to an animal as "an Animalia" or a plant as "a Plantae". |
** Referring to a species by the proper name of its family/order/etc. instead of the anglicized form. A human is not a Hominidae. A human is a hominid, a member of the family Hominidae. Doing this wrong is like referring to an animal as "an Animalia" or a plant as "a Plantae". |
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== [[Live Action TV]] == |
== [[Live Action TV]] == |
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* The female scientist near the beginning of the series ''[[Surface]]'' described the creature she'd seen as "An entirely new phylum of mammal!" This is especially mind-boggling when we later learn that the creatures are created from the DNA of liopleurodons(a prehistoric sea reptile)... which she describes as "A type of prehistoric eel"... You know, just stop trying. |
* The female scientist near the beginning of the series ''[[Surface]]'' described the creature she'd seen as "An entirely new phylum of mammal!" This is especially mind-boggling when we later learn that the creatures are created from the DNA of liopleurodons(a prehistoric sea reptile)... which she describes as "A type of prehistoric eel"... You know, just stop trying. |
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* Anyone else want to punch the screen when [[ |
* Anyone else want to punch the screen when [[Doctor Who]] gave the (reptilian) Silurians the name "''Homo reptilia''"? |
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* Occasionally a host of a [[Food Network]] show will try to emulate Alton Brown's use of scientific terminology, and wind up sounding like a [[Know-Nothing Know-It-All]]. The host of ''Food Feuds'', for one, has openly referred to clams as crustaceans, apparently on the assumption that all seafood without fins is in the same taxon. |
* Occasionally a host of a [[Food Network]] show will try to emulate Alton Brown's use of scientific terminology, and wind up sounding like a [[Know-Nothing Know-It-All]]. The host of ''Food Feuds'', for one, has openly referred to clams as crustaceans, apparently on the assumption that all seafood without fins is in the same taxon. |
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* The main character in ''[[Prey]]'' claims in the pilot to have discovered a new species after analyzing a DNA sample with a 1.2% difference from a regular human. They later proceed to name the new "species" ''Homo dominants'', apparently unaware that you're supposed to use Latin for this. |
* The main character in ''[[Prey]]'' claims in the pilot to have discovered a new species after analyzing a DNA sample with a 1.2% difference from a regular human. They later proceed to name the new "species" ''Homo dominants'', apparently unaware that you're supposed to use Latin for this. |
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[[Category:Artistic License Biology]] |
[[Category:Artistic License Biology]] |
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[[Category:Taxonomic Term Confusion]] |
[[Category:Taxonomic Term Confusion]] |
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