The Eponym Dictionary of Odonata is a comprehensive listing of all
people after whom damselflies and dragonflies have been named in
scientific or common names. Each entry provides details of the
species and a brief biography of the person. It is also
cross-referenced so that the relationships between scientific
authors, entomologists and others can be followed. Many entries
have been contributed by the people so honoured who are not
necessarily odonatologists, entomologists, zoologists or even great
men of science. Many damselflies and dragonflies are named for the
author's family members, friends and those who collected the
species holotypes, while others are figures from myth or history.
In fact, it could be anything from the author's mother to a
favourite musician! Because entries may include details of dates,
places, educational and work institutions, it is possible to
discover information about each person and for a picture to be
built of how the science sometimes follows groupings of colleagues
or those significantly influenced by charismatic teachers. The
Dictionary includes other names which might, at a glance, be
thought to be eponyms yet are not in the truest sense. These may be
species named after characteristics embodied in characters from
literature, whole peoples, acronyms or toponyms, etc. To some
extent it can read like a canon of the great women and men of
science over the last several centuries. Interestingly there are
species named after as many as three generations of the same
family, veiled references to old lovers, sycophantic homage,
financial patronage, etc., as well as all the more `legitimate'
reasons for naming species. Not surprisingly, odonatologists
exhibit a range of opinion on the practice, from naming all species
after people, to wanting all eponyms banned; they can be totally
humourless and pedantic or full of fun and irreverence. Like all of
us they have as many reasons for their namings as ordinary folk
have for naming their children or pets! Underlying all this,
however, is the value of this volume in cataloguing this
fascinating aspect of science for all users, whether scientists or
interested lay readers.
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