Recently, Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club, was in the news because scientists named a tiny Australian leech after her. \u201cI am thrilled to be immortalized as Chtonobdella tanae<\/em><\/a>,\u201d Tan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis humble leech has looped across a new scientific threshold\u2014the first microscopic soft-bodied critter to be described inside and out using CT scanning. Imagine the possibilities for identifying legions of tiny organisms that have thus far lived in obscurity. I am now planning my trip to Queensland, Australia, where I hope to take leisurely walks through the jungle, accompanied by a dozen or so of my namesake feeding on my ankles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turns out, the naming of things is not always a boring affair, even if there is no celebrity novelist involved. Here is a great website that explores the Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An excerpt:<\/strong><\/p>\n

One clause of the ICZN says, “No zoologist should propose a name that, to his knowledge, gives offense on any grounds.” It seems that not all zoologists are aware of this rule. . . .<\/p>\n

Aphanus rolandri<\/em> Linnaeus, 1758 (seed bug) Rolander was a student of Linnaeus who collected thousands of specimens in Suriname, but refused to turn them over to Linnaeus, intending to publish himself. Linnaeus effectively had him blacklisted and named this bug after him; “aphanus” is from the Greek for ignoble or obscure.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Check out the site Curious Taxonomy<\/a><\/em> for more.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club, was in the news because scientists named a tiny Australian leech after her. \u201cI am thrilled to be immortalized as Chtonobdella tanae,\u201d Tan said. \u201cThis humble leech has looped across a new scientific threshold\u2014the first microscopic soft-bodied critter to be described inside and out using CT 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