| Swede puts the genus into genius
 Way
back in the days when we had headlines such as: “Flat Earth Society
ship feared missing”, a Swedish man was born who was to revolutionise
our view of life on earth.
To celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth in 1707 of Carolus Linnaeus,
we asked our resident scientific expert to give us the lowdown:
Carolus Linnaeus? That doesn’t sound too Swedish.
Certainly in the world of nomenclature an 18th century Swede with a distinctly
Latin sounding name might sound suspicious. But our man changed his name
from Carl Linne. Adopting Latin names was all the rage in the scientific
community back then. And it might have given him an idea.
Which was?
That all living creatures are related an extraordinary idea at the time.
For example, it seemed to him that the likes of dogs, wolves, and foxes
could be lumped together and so today we have Canis vulgaris, Canis sylvestris
and Canis lupus.
So all those Latin names were his idea?
Broadly speaking yes. He’s known as the Father of Taxonomy.
He must have liked that.
Indeed. It’s said that rarely has a man been more comfortable
with his importance. It was never wise to criticise Linnaeus’ opinion
of himself those who did often found weeds named after them.
But the scientific world owes him big-time?
Absolutely. Funnily enough he shared a flat with another Swede whose
name has also become part of our everyday life Anders Celsius.
Doubtless they had many, ahem, heated discussions.
Very amusing, I’m sure. But just as Celsius had more than a degree
of success in his chosen field, Linnaeus’ naming system became irresistible
to the scientific community. Like Homo sapiens. He believed we were wise
enough to stop sniggering about the name of our forebears, Homo erectus.
Ooooerrr, matron.
Mind you, before Linnaeus, plants’ names were notably basic mare’s
fart, naked ladies, hound’s piss to name but a few.
Thank you for sharing. Moving swiftly on it’s the week after St.
Patrick’s; any Irish names?
Yup, a few creatures are blessed with the name ‘hibernicus’.
The Irish stoat answers on formal occasions to Putorius hibernicus, while
the Irish jay glories under the banner Garulus glandarius hibernicus and
the Irish hare is Lepus timidus hibernicus.
Very evocative I'm sure.
Indeed. As August Strindberg no stranger to readers I’m sure succinctly
put it: “Linnaeus was in reality a poet who happened to become a
naturalist.” |
