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Sharks: An Eponym Dictionary (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R1,282
Discovery Miles 12 820
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Sharks: An Eponym Dictionary (Hardcover)
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This fascinating reference book delves into the origins of the
vernacular and scientific names of sharks, rays, skates and
chimeras. Each entry offers a concise biography, revealing the
hidden stories and facts behind each species' name. Full of
interesting facts and humorous titbits, the authors' extensive
research and detective work has made this book a comprehensive
source of knowledge on everyone associated with the naming of a
species. A fascinating resource for anyone with an interest in
sharks, from curious naturalist to professional ichthyologist, it
is an essential addition to the library of anyone wishing to
satisfy those tickling questions on the mysteries behind the names.
Sometimes a name refers not to a person but to a fictional
character or mythological figure. Eptatretus eos is named after the
Greek goddess of the dawn in reference to the pink colouring of the
hagfish. The Chilean Roundray Urotrygon cimar, named after Centro
de Investigacion en Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia in honour of its
20th anniversary, and the Angular Angelshark Squatina Guggenheim,
named after the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, are both
named after institutions. The Whiteleg Skate Amblyraja taaf is just
a shorthand way of describing a toponym - Territoire des Terres
australes et antarctiques francaises. There are also entries which
are light-hearted such as the one for a lady who told us "that
decoration of her cakes have included roughtail skate Bathyraja
trachura, red abalone Haliotis rufescens, and chinook salmon
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha." Following the success of their previous
Eponym Dictionaries, the authors have joined forces to give the
Elasmobranch group of fishes a similar treatment but they have also
included the describers and authors of the original descriptions of
the fishes involved, in addition to those names that are, or appear
to be, eponyms. They have tracked down some 850 names of living as
well as dead people. Of these half are eponyms after people who
have fish named after them and may also have described a fish or
fishes. The other half are ichthyologists, marine biologists and
other scientists who have become involved in the description and
naming of sharks, rays, skates and chimeras. For each person
mentioned there is brief, pithy biography. Additionally there are
some 50 entries for what sound like eponyms but turned out not to
have any connection to a person, such as the Alexandrine Torpedo is
named after the city in Egypt and not Alexander the Great. In some
cases these are a reminder of the courage of scientists whose
dedicated research in remote locations exposed them to disease and
even violent death. The eponym ensures that their memory will
survive, aided by reference works such as this highly readable
dictionary. Altogether 1,577 fishes are listed.
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