Charles Darwin's Barnacle and David Bowie's Spider: How Scientific Names Celebrate Adventurers, Heroes, and Even a Few Scoundrels

by Stephen B. Heard Ph.D., Emily S. Damstra (Illustrator)

Overview

An engaging history of the surprising, poignant, and occasionally scandalous stories behind scientific names and their cultural significance, “More fun than you’ve ever had with taxonomy in your whole entire life!" (Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander series and PhD in Quantitative Behavioral Ecology)

Ever since Carl Linnaeus’s binomial system of scientific names was adopted in the eighteenth century, scientists have been eponymously naming organisms in ways that both honor and vilify their namesakes. This charming, informative, and accessible history examines the fascinating stories behind taxonomic nomenclature, from Linnaeus himself naming a small and unpleasant weed after a rival botanist to the recent influx of scientific names based on pop-culture icons—including David Bowie’s spider, Frank Zappa’s jellyfish, and Beyoncé’s fly.
 
Exploring the naming process as an opportunity for scientists to express themselves in creative ways, Stephen B. Heard’s fresh approach shows how scientific names function as a window into both the passions and foibles of the scientific community and as a more general indicator of the ways in which humans relate to, and impose order on, the natural world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300238280
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	03/17/2020
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	226,993
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Stephen B. Heard is professor of biology at the University of New Brunswick in Canada. He is the author of The Scientist’s Guide to Writing: How to Write Easily and Effectively Throughout Your Scientific Career.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Introduction: A Lemur and Its Name 1

1 The Need for Names 5

2 How Scientific Naming Works 14

3 Forsythia, Magnolia, and Names Within Names 24

4 Gary Larson's Louse 31

5 Maria Sibylla Merian and the Metamorphosis of Natural History 39

6 David Bowie's Spider, Beyoncé's Fly, and Frank Zappa's Jellyfish 49

7 Spurlingia: A Snail for the Otherwise Forgotten 57

8 The Name of Evil 64

9 Richard Spruce and the Love of Liverworts 73

10 Names from the Ego 85

11 Eponymy Gone Wrong? Robert von Beringe's Gorilla and Dian Fossey's Tarsier 95

12 Less Than a Tribute: The Temptation of Insult Naming 104

13 Charles Darwin's Tangled Bank 115

14 Love in a Latin Name 129

15 The Indigenous Blind Spot 140

16 Harry Potter and the Name of the Species 152

17 Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer and the Fish from the Depths of Time 162

18 Names for Sale 172

19 A Fly for Mabel Alexander 182

Epilogue: Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur 193

Notes 203

Sources and Further Reading 207

Acknowledgments 227

Index 229

Editorial Reviews

01/27/2020

In this enlightening volume, biology professor Heard (The Scientist’s Guide to Writing) discusses how scientific names are chosen. He begins with Carl Linnaeus, the 18th-century Swedish botanist whose binomial system, intended to aid classification, allowed species names to be more than simply descriptive. In choosing names for organisms, scientists could reveal elements of their own personalities: their sense of humor, for example, or their biases. Chapters on two eponymous species, Strigiphilus garylarsoni and Neopalpa donaldtrumpi, prove particularly amusing. The former, a louse, honors Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson, whose wildly absurd scenarios—slugs having dinner parties, porcupines with punk hairdos—belied an “insightful understanding of how nature works,” which won him a following among scientists. The latter, a moth whose “remarkable shock of large, blond, comb-over scales” reminded scientist Vazrick Nazari of the 45th president, allows Heard to examine the phenomenon of insult naming. It’s one that goes all the way back to Linnaeus, who, stung by another scientist’s criticism of his writing on flowers’ sex lives as “lewd,” named a weed with notably tiny flowers after his prudish colleague. Entertaining and accessible, Heard’s discussion will appeal to both scientific and general audiences. With 25 b&w illus. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Delightful. . . .  This book is for everyone, including students of the life sciences—an immediate classic of science folklore.”—Choice

“In Charles Darwin’s Barnacle and David Bowie’s Spider, Stephen Heard tells some of the remarkable stories behind the names of species—and teaches us about how scientists make sense of the natural world along the way. A true pleasure to read.”—Carl Zimmer, author of She Has Her Mother’s Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity

“More fun than you’ve ever had with taxonomy in your whole entire life! Delightfully written, thoroughly researched, makes you want to learn Latin, and will give good dinner party stories forever.”—Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander series, and PhD in Quantitative Behavioral Ecology

“Charles Darwin's Barnacle and David Bowie's Spider is carefully researched, well-written, and contains a wealth of insightful comments. Stephen Heard is a talented writer with a good sense of humor, and he knows how to tell a story.”—Paul Faber, Oregon State University

“Stephen Heard’s prose fairly sings with enthusiasm, and he presents truly fascinating stories about the names of living things – stories I guarantee you’ve never heard before.”—Daniel Lewis, author of Belonging on an Island

“In a poignant, precise, and friendly style, Stephen Heard introduces the foibles of Western science—or, perhaps more accurately, Western scientists. The result is beautiful, welcoming, and illuminating.”—Nicole Palffy-Muhoray, Yale Peabody Museum

From the Publisher