Scientific names: between seriousness, humor, and low blows
You all know the humpback whale, right? But do you know its scientific name : Megaptera novaeangliae ?
A bit harder to pronounce and remember, right? Since the 18th century, scientists have given every living species a scholarly Latin name. But behind these sometimes austere labels lie funny stories, tributes, petty rivalries… and even a few nods to pop culture!
How and why should species be named?
Behind it all is a scientific discipline called taxonomy: the art of classifying living organisms into hierarchical categories (life > domain > kingdom > phylum > class > order > family > genus > species) known as taxa. A taxon is basically a “box” into which we group individuals that share common characteristics. To keep things well organized, scientists must follow specific rules when naming their discoveries.
It all began with Carl von Linné (better known as Linnaeus), an 18th-century Swedish naturalist and the father of modern taxonomy. He introduced the binomial system: a name consisting of a genus (the first letter capitalized) + a species (lowercase), both written in italics, so that scholars around the world could use the same universal language.
A genus is a taxonomic rank grouping together species that share several common traits. A species is defined by the fact that individuals can reproduce with each other, and that their offspring can also reproduce. For instance, horses, donkeys, and zebras share similarities and belong to the same genus, Equus. They can sometimes reproduce across species (a horse and a donkey produce a mule), but since the mule is sterile, they are not considered the same species.
But the choice of a name isn’t totally free! It must follow rules set by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN):
-It must follow the binomial law (genus + species).
-The name must be unique.
-Scientists are not allowed to name a new species after themselves.
-The name must not be vulgar or offensive—though some savants of the past couldn’t resist a few cheeky digs at their rivals…
Most of the time, scientific names are descriptive, often linked to the species’ appearance or habitat
Glaucus atlanticus
Take a little marine mollusk whose name comes from the Greek glaukos = blue-gray, the color of the sea, and atlanticus = discovered in the Atlantic Ocean
Sphyrna mokarran
The great hammerhead shark, whose name comes from sphyrna = hammer in Greek, and mokarran = great in Arabic
Hippocampus hippocampus
The common seahorse, with a name built from hippos = horse and kampos = sea creature, both in Greek
Aldabrachelys gigantea
The Aldabra giant tortoise, named after the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, its natural range
Popa langur
The Popa langur, a small monkey from Myanmar, named after Mount Popa where it lives
Dionaea muscipula
The famous carnivorous plant Venus flytrap, from muscipula = fly trap in Latin
Napoleonaea imperialis
A tropical West African tree named both in homage to Napoleon and because its flowers vaguely resemble… an imperial crown
Bellis perennis
The daisy, from Latin bellis = beautiful and perennis = everlasting, literally meaning pretty all year round
Some researchers have used taxonomy to settle their disputes
Siegesbeckia orientalis
Carl Linnaeus, stung by criticism from the botanist Johann Georg Siegesbeck, named a stinky weed Siegesbeckia orientalis. A Latin revenge, still visible three centuries later!
Buffonia sp.
Linnaeus and Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon, another great 18th-century naturalist, were polar opposites: Linnaeus the obsessive classifier versus Buffon the philosopher-observer. Legend has it that Linnaeus retaliated by naming a swamp plant genus Buffonia. In reality, the word comes from bufo (“toad” in Latin), but the anecdote nicely illustrates their rivalry.
Khruschevia ridicula
The eccentric Rousseau H. Flower also used taxonomy to send messages. He gave the names of his friends to cephalopods (praised for their big brains), but for his enemies… it was worms. In a political jab, he even named a fossil worm Khruschevia ridicula to mock Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
Taxonomists love to pay tribute to famous figures
Gaga germanotta
Lady Gaga inspired the name of a fern genus, including Gaga germanotta
Scaptia beyonceae
An Australian fly with a golden abdomen, just like Beyoncé’s stage outfits
Aleiodes shakirae
A parasitic wasp whose victims “wriggle” like Shakira
Agathidium vaderi
A beetle with a dark head, a nod to Darth Vader
Neopalpa donaldtrumpi
A butterfly with a blond tuft, reminiscent of an American president
Myloplus sauron
A herbivorous piranha with markings that recall the Eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings
More than just Latin words
These names aren’t just a scholarly code. They are:
Cultural archives, telling stories about the times, the rivalries, and the passions of researchers. Bridges to the public, because who wouldn’t want to know why a butterfly is named after Trump or a fly after Beyoncé? Sometimes even a tool for conservation, since a striking name draws attention to endangered species. Scientific nomenclature is a serious enterprise, but it leaves the door open to humor, homage, and even revenge. So next time you come across an unpronounceable Latin name, remember: it might just hide a great story… and who knows, one day a species might even bear your name!