Tyrannosaurus. Velociraptor. Pterodactyl. Say these names aloud and imagine you’d never heard them before. They’d seem strange, formidable and, ironically, futuristic.
If a new Gladiators series were commissioned tomorrow, these names would surely be on the longlist of pseudonyms for the stars of the show to reflect their strength and dexterity. They would certainly be an improvement on the 1990s version where Gladiator aliases reduced the ginger woman to her hair colour (Flame) and the black participants to their skin colour (Shadow; Nightshade).
We learned this week that we can talk to the animals, to an extent. But what we’re really good at is naming them.
The naming of animals is a very human linguistic wonder. The Latin and Greek words for popular dinosaurs have long since become household names for the “tyrant lizard”, the “swift thief” and the “winged-finger” creatures that we’ve come to know and fear. We don’t need the English translation to conjure up these fearsome reptiles; the names would have initially seemed like impenetrable scientific jargon – hard to say and even harder to spell, especially with that silent P in pterodactyl (which, strictly speaking, isn’t a dinosaur).
Flying Dinosaurs – a fascinating new book by John Pickrell – instructs us to “unthink what you thought you knew about dinosaurs”, and showcases all the evidence that indicates dinosaurs did not become extinct: they evolved into birds. Many had feathers, a somewhat confrontational image for Jurassic Park diehards who prefer their dinosaurs robustly ugly and grounded to daintily feathered and, eventually, airborne.
But the bigger revelation, for me, was the names given to the recently discovered dinosaurs in light of this new scientific school of thought. A glossary at the back gives us Dilong paradoxus – the “paradoxical emperor dragon”, named in 2004 and an early relative of T rex; the first tyrannosaur relative to be discovered with feathers. Meanwhile Yutyrannus huali, named in 2012, is the “beautiful feathered tyrant”.
Then there’s the wondrous “parrot lizard of Mongolia” – Psittacosaurus mongoliensis – something straight out of a Roald Dahl novel, perhaps closely related to Vermicious Knids. Some of the feathered dinosaurs are named after their creators: Anchiornis huxleyi was named in 2009 after TH Huxley, the first to draw a link between dinosaurs and birds. Some are named after investors – Anzu wyliei is a cross between an emu and a lizard and has been described as the “chicken from hell.” It was named this year after Anzu, a bird-like deity from Sumerian mythology, and Wylie J Tuttle, the son of a museum donor.
Some dinosaurs are gaining catchy new nicknames, such as the “Pinocchio rex” (Qianzhousaurus sinensis) – a new species of long-snouted tyrannosaur, recently unearthed in southern China. Will these recently coined terms swoop down and fly into our everyday parlance as naturally as T rex does today? Only time will tell.
The wondrous words we give to species and organisms beyond dinosaurs are equally glorious. When naming, there are rules scientists must follow. Every name must comply with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature: only letters of the Latin alphabet can be used; it must be unique; it must be published. Within these rules, scientists can have fun.
Some stray from their nerdy side when they name species or organisms after the stars they admire. This gives us Aptostichus angelinajolieae, a trapdoor spider named after Angelina Jolie, and Scaptia beyonceae, a rare horsefly named after Beyoncé, with a gold patch. Calponia harrisonfordi is a spider and Agra katewinsletae is a beetle, both with obvious namesakes. Carmenelectra shechisme (pronounced “Carmen Electra she kiss me”) is a moth.
A recently discovered frog was christened Hyloscirtus princecharleshi, named after the Prince of Wales in recognition of his charity work to protect rainforests. The Campsicnemus charliechaplini is a fly that dies in a bandy-legged position. Barack Obama has made quite an impact on the world of natural nomenclature: at least four species are named after him, not all of them particularly flattering. Aptostichus barackobamai – a trapdoor spider; Caloplaca obamae – a lichen; Etheostoma obama – a darter (fish); and Paragordius obamai – a hairworm (parasite).
The zoological zeitgeist contains other surprising nuggets of nomenclature. The long extinct South Pacific conquered lorikeet is called Vini vidivici. The Gamboa worm salamander is called Oedipina complex, although the nature of its relationship with its mother is unclear. Ba humbugi is a scrooge-like snail from Fiji. Heerz lukenatcha is a type of wasp found in South America.
Discoverers of a new world monkey auctioned off naming rights to raise funds for Bolivia’s Madidi National Park where it was found. The winner? GoldenPalace.com, who paid $650,000 to name the species Callicebus aureipalatti, making it literally the “monkey of the golden palace”, or the GoldenPalace.com Monkey.
My favourite, though, is the species of mushroom discovered in Malaysia in 2010. Its spongy appearance inspired the brilliantly absurd name Spongforma squarepantsii.
Is the David Beckhamosaurus next? Let’s face it, Kris Jenner is probably bribing a palaeontologist to name their next fossil discovery Kardashianceratops rex: a leech-like creature that snatches the hard-won prey of others.
Gary Nunn is a regular contributor to Mind Your Language. His posts appears on the last Friday of every month. Twitter: @GaryNunn1