Re: USAGE: (Mis)Naming a Language

Quoting John Cowan <jcowan@...>:

> Herman Miller scripsit:
>
> > Later I
> > found out that Rissa is the scientific name of a kind of gull called a
> > kittiwake (two species: black-legged, R. tridactyla, and red-legged, R.
> > brevirostris).
>
> It turns out that even Linnaean names aren't absolutely unique: the
> same name can be shared by an animal taxon and a plant taxon.
> See http://home.earthlink.net/~misaak/taxonomy.html for such examples
> as _Cannabis_, which is a genus of birds as well as of the well-known
> and widely cultivated plants.  In principle, I suppose, there could
> even be a plant called _Boa constrictor_.

If memory serves, B. constrictor became Constrictor constrictor when they
reformed the taxonomy a while ago, so a plant called B. constrictor would most
likely be alone with that name.

Interestingly, prokaryots are not allowed to get names used by a plant or
animal. I'm sure they're most miffed.

                              Andreas