Hi,
Inspired by this forum, I've begun to try to learn the scientific names of animals along with their common names. I'm finding it quite difficult. The common name sticks easily, the scientific name tends to slide out of my memory or imprints imperfectly.
To take an example, I identified a bird that frequents my backyard as an orange-footed scrubfowl. I attempted to learn the scientific name at the same time - Megapodius reinwardt - and after a couple of days all that remained was "Mega" with a dubious recollection of the rest of the word: Megapaedus, Megapede, et cetera. And, of course, reinwardt isn't Latin or any other language, it's just someone's name.
I've had a look at the http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-reptile-discussion-42/latin-names-161636/ thread. One of the suggestions there was to learn the meaning of the word. Having been lucky enough to study Latin at school, and having picked up a little bit of etymology, I can see that Megapodius means something like "large foot". Knowing that didn't help all that much. It's not like scientific names come up often in everyday conversation either, so I don't get much opportunity to practise them. "Guess what, Dad! I saw a Megapodius reinwardt today! And my Antaresia stimsoni turned one year old."
I like repetitive scientific names. I remember those. Gallus gallus, Natrix natrix and Rattus rattus come to mind. But since most scientific names aren't repetitive, are there any other tricks? How often do you have to look them up rather than rely on memory?
Thanks,
Renenet
Inspired by this forum, I've begun to try to learn the scientific names of animals along with their common names. I'm finding it quite difficult. The common name sticks easily, the scientific name tends to slide out of my memory or imprints imperfectly.
To take an example, I identified a bird that frequents my backyard as an orange-footed scrubfowl. I attempted to learn the scientific name at the same time - Megapodius reinwardt - and after a couple of days all that remained was "Mega" with a dubious recollection of the rest of the word: Megapaedus, Megapede, et cetera. And, of course, reinwardt isn't Latin or any other language, it's just someone's name.
I've had a look at the http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-reptile-discussion-42/latin-names-161636/ thread. One of the suggestions there was to learn the meaning of the word. Having been lucky enough to study Latin at school, and having picked up a little bit of etymology, I can see that Megapodius means something like "large foot". Knowing that didn't help all that much. It's not like scientific names come up often in everyday conversation either, so I don't get much opportunity to practise them. "Guess what, Dad! I saw a Megapodius reinwardt today! And my Antaresia stimsoni turned one year old."
I like repetitive scientific names. I remember those. Gallus gallus, Natrix natrix and Rattus rattus come to mind. But since most scientific names aren't repetitive, are there any other tricks? How often do you have to look them up rather than rely on memory?
Thanks,
Renenet
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