[Taxacom] species names for sale.

[Thomas Lammers]

----- Original Message -----
From: Curtis Clark <jcclark-lists at earthlink.net>

> Speciose groups for sure, but also species-rich ones.
> 
> http://www.bible-history.com/latin/latin_s.html
> http://www.curator.org/legacyvmnh/WebOfLife/Species/species.htm 
> (just 
> before the bibliography)

That Latin root has come into English as "specious," meaning "pretty" in a demeaning sense ("Isn't that a pretty excuse?").  

I know of no rule that forbids the coinage of new words in English when they are needed.  "Speciose" fills a percieved need; everyone knows what it means, even its detractors.  There is no reason to aside from a pedantic devotion to etymological purity to avoid the word.  If people use the word and are understood, if it fosters communication, it IS part of the language.  It'll show up in the dictionaries eventually.  

Tom Lammers