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Sciencetific names sharing between reptiles and amphibians

tipnatee

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I always found that to be very confusing ... Like why?? I mean they different from birth place till some basic structure. Like the relation between T. Verrucosus & F. Verrucosus. :confused:
They don't even look alike :confused::confused::confused:
 

michael

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Verrocusus means covered with warts or wart like projections. That works both for T. verrocusus and F. verrocusus.
 

ekocak

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Think of it like this:

Say you live on Elm street and I live around the corner on Oak street, but by coincidence both of our house numbers are 347.

The house number is a descriptor, but only of where you are on that specific street. Likewise, species level names are only descriptive within a genus. Different genus, different street.
 

FrogEyes

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Scientific names consist of two or three names which MUST be used together, always in the same order, and always with only the first word capitalized.

The first word is the genus, a grouping of related species. A genus name cannot be shared except by related species. The genus name Furcifer can only be used for certain Malagasy chameleons. The genus Tylototriton can only be used for certain salamanders which currently occur only in Asia. Since plants, fungi, and animals use separate naming systems, it is currently possible for a name to be used both for a genus of plant, and a genus of animal [eg. Salvadora, Dracaena, Arizona - the last also being a bacterium]. Generally, a tiny difference in spelling is sufficient for two names to be considered different.

Subsequent names are first the species, and second [if assigned] the subspecies. A species is an interbreeding group of organisms with a shared gene pool; a subspecies is a subset of a species. There is no defining set of characteristics or definitions to distinguish "species" from "subspecies", so in current practice, subspecies are often eliminated as indistinct, or elevated to species status.

Genera are nouns. Species and subspecies are adjectives [often as what's called a 'noun in apposition' - a noun being used as an adjective for another noun]. Thus, Dracaena are caiman lizards, while Dracaena paraguayensis is the caiman lizard from Paraguay, while Dracaena guianensis is the caiman lizard from Guiana. It's not unusual for names the adjectives to be misleading or inaccurate, but once applied properly to a particular organism, they are permanent. The Sierra Nevada ensatina, for example, is Ensatina eschscholtzii platensis, being described from La Plata, Argentina. Of course, it's actually from the mountains of California only.

The same word can be used for two unrelated species, but for different reasons. Likewise, words or root words might be used for different reasons. The "bates" in poison frog names means 'walker', as in 'upon-the-ground-walker' [Epipedobates], but in Excidobates it's used so that you automatically think of it as a poison frog because of the shared root [compare Phyllobates, Dendrobates, Minyobates, Andinobates, Adelphobates]. The same usage might be repeated in unrelated organisms, such as 'dactylus' in certain frogs, various skinks, and a great many geckos.

Furcifer verrucosus and Tylototriton verrucosus have nothing to do with one another. They both have irregular, rough skin surfaces, and are thus 'verrucose'.
 

JM29

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Yes, this system is good to name a given species or genus, as long as it is well managed.

It doesn't avoid some problems :
Thanks, FrogEyes, for giving us examples, but the genus Dracaena is not the best.
Dracaena guianensis is a caiman lizard but Dracaena marginalis is ... a plant.

Dracaena (plant) was named in 1767 (Vandelli ex Linnaeus).
Dracaena (lizard) was named by Daudin in 1802.
 

tipnatee

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Thanks wow that's exactly just the right info I was looking for ! .. Perfect ! thanks guys!!!!!!!! You're all the best :happy:
 

tipnatee

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Yes, this system is good to name a given species or genus, as long as it is well managed.

It doesn't avoid some problems :
Thanks, FrogEyes, for giving us examples, but the genus Dracaena is not the best.
Dracaena guianensis is a caiman lizard but Dracaena marginalis is ... a plant.

Dracaena (plant) was named in 1767 (Vandelli ex Linnaeus).
Dracaena (lizard) was named by Daudin in 1802.


Now that is the confusing part I was trying to say I just couldn't think of one, but you've got the best example. ;)
 

FrogEyes

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You might notice that I specifically used Dracaena as an example twice, once (along with Arizona and Salvadora) as a name shared between animals and plants. The context normally makes it clear which is which.
 
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