A glossary of term?

[Fumi]

Hey guys! I realise that a lot of the stuff that is posted on this forum is going to go way over my head. I'm new to caudata as well as any forums. I am also fully aware that the longer I lurk on this site, the more I will learn and I will pick up tips and ideas off of other people. The thing is, when I'm browsing the posts, there's often a whole load of words or phrases that I have no clue what they mean. Whether it's Latin, the actual name of the species, or is it's the name of some ones pet. So confused! Ugh.

Only a few months ago I would have been "huh"ing at the word Axolotl. But now of course I know what this means as axies are what brought me to this site in the first place. So I know that across time I will learn some of these words, but in the mean time, is there somewhere that I could find out what these mean and find out if the word is relevant to me. As searching any of the following examples isn't going to get me anywhere.

bbs
T.dobrogicus
Pachytriton Labiatus
Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis
Nekton-Rep


There have been a lot more that I've not understood, but I cannot find them again to copy them to this post. Most of the others that have baffled me I am assuming to be acronyms and abbreviations.

If anyone could shed some light on this for me I'd be very appreciative.

 

[SludgeMunkey]

T.dobrogicus : Triturus dobrogocius, The Danube Crested Newt
Pachytriton Labiatus : The Paddle Tail Newt
Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis : One of the southern sub-species of Eastern Newt

Generally speaking, we try to use scientific names here on the site due to the international nature of our members. I have no idea how to explain a Spotted Salamander to a native speaker, of say, German, as the translation of that common name can describe hundreds of different species world wide. But if I say Ambystoma maculatum, they know exactly what I am talking about.
The use of common names can be very confusing to native English speakers, imagine what it is like when you have to use translation software! Scientific names are universal in all languages and prevent confusion.

Thankfully, the pros we have lurking about this family of sites have put together an additional site that makes it easy to find out which animal is being talked about and a ton of other useful information too!)
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/species.shtml




bbs : "Baby" brine shrimp, AKA napuli, artemia- an easily farmed food small aquatic pets commonly known as sea monkeys
also "Bulletin Board System" which is what we internet oldtimers sometimes refer to forums as....

Nekton-Rep: a brand name reptile and amphibian food supplement containing carotenoids designed to help proper development of bright orange and red colors in species that have such colors. In captivity, many species that are orange or red in the wild, can end up yellow or whitish as they do not get the carotenoids that develop these colors in their diet.

 

[caudatadude28]

SludgeMonkey hit all those notes correctly except Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis are not just the southern sub-species of the Eastern newt, they are the Central subspecies of the eastern newt. Unless you consider Wisconsin south.lol.

 

[SludgeMunkey]

See? Even with scientific nomenclature it can get confusing!:lol:

 

[Fumi]

Wow! Okay. I feel really ignorant now. Hmmm... I'll check out that species guide and try not to be such a noob. Thanks

 

[SludgeMunkey]

Wow! Okay. I feel really ignorant now. Hmmm... I'll check out that species guide and try not to be such a noob. Thanks

No such thing as a noob here. The beauty of the Caudata.org "family" is that us "amateurs" get to mingle with the pros.

I spent a long time just lurking about before I got active in the community. I learned quickly that most any question is a good question. Think about how many other users were wondering the same thing!

 

[Fumi]

No such thing as a noob here. The beauty of the Caudata.org "family" is that us "amateurs" get to mingle with the pros.

I spent a long time just lurking about before I got active in the community. I learned quickly that most any question is a good question. Think about how many other users were wondering the same thing!

Thanks for that. I've been reading the Ambystoma Mexicanum (yeah, check me out ) part of that species guide. It's great! Very helpful. I love to learn about these things, only I'm afraid I've never been very scientific. So names like ambystoma mexicanum don't come naturally to me. Or at least not as easily as axie. Lol.

 

[Azhael]

Give yourself some time, you´ll get the hang of it!
Scientific names are hard to learn for some people because they are normally NEVER used outside the scientific community or hobbyists, so it´s simply something new that needs getting used to. You´ll find that just by reading posts your brain will fill up with scientific names, and after a while you´ll know exactly which species each name´s for.

Just a little note...if you are going to use scientific names(which is very advisable for the reasons given by Johnny), you´ll want to try and write them apropiately. The first word of the species name , the genus, is always written with a first capital letter, while the second word(the actual species) is not, and neither are subespecific names (such as in the case of Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis).
It may seem complicated at first but as i said, you´ll get used to it really quick, you´ll see.

As for other terms that you don´t know, reading and learning will give meaning to those words in a heartbeat
None of us was born knowing this stuff! xD

 

[Abrahm]

bbs : "Baby" brine shrimp, AKA napuli, artemia- an easily farmed food small aquatic pets commonly known as sea monkeys
also "Bulletin Board System" which is what we internet oldtimers sometimes refer to forums as....

I thought I'd point out (being needlessly pedantic) that nauplii are larval crustaceans of all types, while Artemia is the scientific name of brine shrimp.

Thanks for that. I've been reading the Ambystoma Mexicanum (yeah, check me out ) part of that species guide. It's great! Very helpful. I love to learn about these things, only I'm afraid I've never been very scientific. So names like ambystoma mexicanum don't come naturally to me. Or at least not as easily as axie. Lol.

Scientific names take a little getting used to but are really invaluable, especially if you are dealing with things like fish or the firebelly newts. There are three genera and at least a dozen species that get stuck with the common name firebelly newt. Their care requirements are quite different which can lead to a lot of problems and confusion!

 

[jclee]

I'm a long-time herp hobbyist, but I only really recall the scientific names of species that are local to me (i.e. that I've researched in field guides.) Species that are non-native to my area, I tend to remember the pet trade names, first. One trick that I've used when following posts with scientific nomenclature I have difficulty following is to leave a browser window open on a search site. Often, net searches for scientific names pull up a common name, or at least a description of the family, in the blurb below the title. Of course, this is not an infallible method, as anyone can post on the internet, so some people post incorrect images/names, but if the first 7 results all give the same common name, I assume I probably have the right species. I only bring this up because, while I adore the species database here, I often don't want to break my train of thought on the thread that I'm reading at the time, and a quick search is just that: quicker. Of course, for guaranteed accuracy, you're much better off with the site's database.