janvanderbrugge
Well-known member
HBW Alive Key is not only a valuable source for discovering the meaning of Greek and Latin terms and of eponyms and toponyms, but it also has a function for one's "éducation permanente". From the Catalogue of the Ashmolean Museum, 1836, I learnt that the synonym term Pyrgita (Cuvier) for the house sparrow was derived from Greek pyrgitès, "a liver in towers" (I would never have thought of the word "liver" in this sense!), from pyrgos = tower, torret. The HBW Alive Key offers Cuvier's original explanation (which has no tower in it, only the sparrow itself). Put together, very helpful!
By some chance I stumbled into the term squirrels in my files and checked the references in the Key. I take the liberty to submit two adaptations to James' texts, not as critical notes, but to add my part to this tremendous quantity of information.
First the squirrel-less element in a specific name of Crossbills.
For the given term sinesciurus: read sinesciuris, this is Latin plural dative, which is required after preposition sine (without). Without the explanation by the authors one could hardly imagine what reason they had for such a name!
sinesciuris (Loxia): without squirrels (Sciurus). “We name this species Loxia sinesciuris because it occurs in an area without squirrels, and the absence of tree squirrels is key to its evolution. Sine sciuris is the Latin phrase “without squirrels.” (referring to American Red Squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, which does not occur in the South Hills and Albion Mountains, southern Idaho; as a result cones of the lodgepole pines (Pinus contorta latifolia) accumulate and serotinous cones can hold seeds for decades; this crossbill depends on the stable seed availability of this large seed bank and crossbill density in the South Hills is about 20 times higher than in lodgepole pine forests with red squirrels). [C.W.Benkman et al., The Condor, 111 (1), 2009]
The second squirrel-name is in fact without squirrels as well. There is little room (or reason) in nomenclature or eponymics for humour, but Hartert seems to have one of those moments . . .
sciurorum (Myiagra rubecula): of the squirrels (Sciurus), but there is no relation with such animals; the name was given for the Eichhorn brothers, Albert F. and George Eichhorn, collectors in New Guinea. They were brothers-in-law of explorer Albert S.Meek and collected on Goodenough Island, D'Entrecasteaux Group, Papua New Guinea for several weeks in 1923. (Amer.Mus.Novit. 1792, 1956, p.7)
The name was given by Rothschild and Hartert, translating the German word "eichhorn" (squirrel) = sciurus > of the Eichhorns = sciurorum.
In my files this last name received a double place: in a list of names related to animals (bird names connected to mammals, like Buphagus, or reptiles like anguitimens, or insects like Myrmecothera), of course with the note as above, and also in the list of eponyms, for the two Eichhorn collectors.
For those interested in the etymology of mammal names: sciurus = shadow-tail, from Greek skia = shadow, shady place, + oura = tail.
Enjoy,
Jan van der Brugge, Netherlands
By some chance I stumbled into the term squirrels in my files and checked the references in the Key. I take the liberty to submit two adaptations to James' texts, not as critical notes, but to add my part to this tremendous quantity of information.
First the squirrel-less element in a specific name of Crossbills.
For the given term sinesciurus: read sinesciuris, this is Latin plural dative, which is required after preposition sine (without). Without the explanation by the authors one could hardly imagine what reason they had for such a name!
sinesciuris (Loxia): without squirrels (Sciurus). “We name this species Loxia sinesciuris because it occurs in an area without squirrels, and the absence of tree squirrels is key to its evolution. Sine sciuris is the Latin phrase “without squirrels.” (referring to American Red Squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, which does not occur in the South Hills and Albion Mountains, southern Idaho; as a result cones of the lodgepole pines (Pinus contorta latifolia) accumulate and serotinous cones can hold seeds for decades; this crossbill depends on the stable seed availability of this large seed bank and crossbill density in the South Hills is about 20 times higher than in lodgepole pine forests with red squirrels). [C.W.Benkman et al., The Condor, 111 (1), 2009]
The second squirrel-name is in fact without squirrels as well. There is little room (or reason) in nomenclature or eponymics for humour, but Hartert seems to have one of those moments . . .
sciurorum (Myiagra rubecula): of the squirrels (Sciurus), but there is no relation with such animals; the name was given for the Eichhorn brothers, Albert F. and George Eichhorn, collectors in New Guinea. They were brothers-in-law of explorer Albert S.Meek and collected on Goodenough Island, D'Entrecasteaux Group, Papua New Guinea for several weeks in 1923. (Amer.Mus.Novit. 1792, 1956, p.7)
The name was given by Rothschild and Hartert, translating the German word "eichhorn" (squirrel) = sciurus > of the Eichhorns = sciurorum.
In my files this last name received a double place: in a list of names related to animals (bird names connected to mammals, like Buphagus, or reptiles like anguitimens, or insects like Myrmecothera), of course with the note as above, and also in the list of eponyms, for the two Eichhorn collectors.
For those interested in the etymology of mammal names: sciurus = shadow-tail, from Greek skia = shadow, shady place, + oura = tail.
Enjoy,
Jan van der Brugge, Netherlands
