[Taxacom] Dishonorable people as species names

[David Redei]

"Aphanus rolandri Linnaeus, 1758 (seed bug) Rolander was a student of
Linnaeus who collected thousands of specimens in Suriname, but refused to
turn them over to Linnaeus, intending to publish himself. Linnaeus
effectively had him blacklisted and named this bug after him; "aphanus" is
from the Greek for ignoble or obscure."

The Aphanus rolandri story certainly does not stand, as the species was
described as Cimex rolandri Linnaeus, 1758. The genus Aphanus was
established by Laporte de Castelnau in 1833, well after Linnaeus' death.
The part of the story that Linnaeus wanted to name a black insect after
Rolander who did something bad to him might be true (I do not know); but
Laporte explicitly provided the etymology for his newly established Aphanus
as follows: "Genre [...] de taille petite et de couleurs obscures"; so it
seems he simply had the obscure colour in mind.

With best regards,

David Redei



On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 at 01:58, Kenneth Kinman via Taxacom <
taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu> wrote:

> Hi All,
>           The ICZN apparently has a rule stating:  "No zoologist should
> propose a name that, to his knowledge, gives offense on any grounds,"  And
> yet even Linnaeus himself did this (although it was certainly long before
> there was such a "rule").
>        Below are two weblinks, and in the second one there is a section on
> "Insulting Puns", one of which is the following:  "Aphanus rolandri
> Linnaeus, 1758 (seed bug) Rolander was a student of Linnaeus who collected
> thousands of specimens in Suriname, but refused to turn them over to
> Linnaeus, intending to publish himself. Linnaeus effectively had him
> blacklisted and named this bug after him; "aphanus" is from the Greek for
> ignoble or obscure."
>                            ----------------Ken Kinman
>
>
> https://io9.gizmodo.com/these-scientific-names-were-chosen-purely-to-insult-cer-1691360201
>
>
> http://www.curioustaxonomy.net/puns/puns.html
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Kenneth Kinman <kinman at hotmail.com>
> Sent: Saturday, November 9, 2019 9:32 PM
> To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Dishonorable people as species names
>
> Dear All,
>        I guess this name is probably still a nomen nudum, but Aidan Bell
> (owner of EnviroBuild) in late 2018 won at auction (for $25,000) the naming
> rights for a worm-like amphibian (caecilian) which is “blind and buries its
> head in the sand”.  He chose the name "Dermophis donaldtrumpi" as an
> unflattering reference to the U.S. President.  But in the United States,
> Trump is regarded by millions as a wonderful person, while millions of
> others think he is awful.
>       So will this proposed species name be approved or rejected by peer
> review?
>
>
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/12/19/blind-worm-like-amphibian-that-buries-its-head-underground-has-bee
> <
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/12/19/blind-worm-like-amphibian-that-buries-its-head-underground-has-been-named-after-donald-trump/
> >n-named-after-donald-trump/<
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/12/19/blind-worm-like-amphibian-that-buries-its-head-underground-has-been-named-after-donald-trump/
> >
>
> https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dermophis-donaldtrumpi-amphibian-trump/
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Taxacom <taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu> on behalf of Geoff
> Read via Taxacom <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
> Sent: Saturday, November 9, 2019 12:38 AM
> To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
> Subject: [Taxacom] Dishonorable people as species names
>
>
> It's a  tricky one.
>
>
> https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/scientists-should-stop-naming-species-after-awful-people/
>
> also the originator:
> https://twitter.com/WhySharksMatter/status/1192790203037040647
>
> --
> Geoffrey B. Read, Ph.D.
> Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
> gread at actrix.gen.nz
>
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>