In doing research for some related schoolwork, I found this interesting article on the common names of tarantulas.
http://www.americanarachnology.org/acn5.pdf
"Arthropod scientific names follow a strict set of rules adopted by the International Commission
on Zoological Nomenclature, and published in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
The intent of the code is to encourage stability, accuracy, and universality of an organism’s
scientific name (Bosik 1997). However, scientific names do change for reasons including priority,
improper use of Latin, misidentification, and many other causes. Common names have been
demostrated as more stable than scientific names. In a few cases, the scientific name for species
has changed multiple times in a relatively short period of time, while the common name for the
actual organism was never altered."
"Many arachnologists believe that the
scientific name itself is sufficient. This is suitable for trained scientists, however, arachnologists
dealing with the public may rapidly discover the relative value of a common name. Should they
attempt to encourage the use of, for example, Achaearanea tepidariorum (C. L. Koch), instead of
using the term common house spider, perhaps the most frequently encountered spider in the United
States, their opinions may quickly change. Most workers in public extension services, especially
those dealing with agriculture, appreciate having standardized arthropod common names available."
A very interesting read! I dont know much about the organization behind it though, how "official" and authoritative are these names? I definitely see their point, though. It is very confusing to see Brachypelma smithi referred to as Euthalus smithi, and I am still not sure exactly what the "official" scientific name for the Singapore Blue or Tiger Rump are.
http://www.americanarachnology.org/acn5.pdf
"Arthropod scientific names follow a strict set of rules adopted by the International Commission
on Zoological Nomenclature, and published in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
The intent of the code is to encourage stability, accuracy, and universality of an organism’s
scientific name (Bosik 1997). However, scientific names do change for reasons including priority,
improper use of Latin, misidentification, and many other causes. Common names have been
demostrated as more stable than scientific names. In a few cases, the scientific name for species
has changed multiple times in a relatively short period of time, while the common name for the
actual organism was never altered."
"Many arachnologists believe that the
scientific name itself is sufficient. This is suitable for trained scientists, however, arachnologists
dealing with the public may rapidly discover the relative value of a common name. Should they
attempt to encourage the use of, for example, Achaearanea tepidariorum (C. L. Koch), instead of
using the term common house spider, perhaps the most frequently encountered spider in the United
States, their opinions may quickly change. Most workers in public extension services, especially
those dealing with agriculture, appreciate having standardized arthropod common names available."
A very interesting read! I dont know much about the organization behind it though, how "official" and authoritative are these names? I definitely see their point, though. It is very confusing to see Brachypelma smithi referred to as Euthalus smithi, and I am still not sure exactly what the "official" scientific name for the Singapore Blue or Tiger Rump are.