NAMING THE WILD

What In The World Is A "Procyon lotor" And Other Weird Scientific Names

Image: Mathew Schwartz

From the frozen arctic tundra to tropical rainforests, our nation is home to a spectacular variety of landscapes, each replete with life. Among the thousands of creatures that inhabit the diverse corners of the United States, some truly stand out, emerging as symbols not just for their states, but for the entire country.

Knowing their scientific names allows a deeper understanding of these creatures, not only to identify them accurately but also to discover their origins and evolution.

Ready to take a walk on the wild side? Join us as we decode the scientific names behind these 10 American animals!

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Native to the southeastern United States, this tough reptile is not exactly what you might call "small." This formidable species can measure 11.2 to 15.1 feet in length and weigh up to an impressive 1,000 lbs!

Better known as the American Alligator, the Alligator mississippiensis has its identity well stated in its name. While mississippiensis might sound like a tongue-twister, its meaning is surprisingly clear. Yes, you got it: this Latin term indicates the creature's origin from the Mississippi River and surrounding areas!

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Ever had one of those days when all you wanted to do was sleep for hours? Well, that's what this animal does, but during the whole winter season!

The ursus arctos horribilis (don't feel bad, we laughed too) is commonly known as the grizzly bear. This species stands out for its large size, being one of the largest bear species in the world.

And its scientific name is no less peculiar: ursus comes from Latin, meaning "bear," while arctos originates from Greek, translating to "north." As for horribilis, it's exactly what you might imagine; a Latin term meaning "horrible" (or, for gentler interpretations, "terrifying").

Image: David Clode

Don't let the cute face of this reptile fool you. The famous Gila Monster is a native species found in the southwestern regions of our country, and not only does it have a large size compared to other lizards, but it is also venomous!

In the world of science, the Gila Monster is known as Heloderma suspectum. Heloderma comes from Greek and can be translated into English as "studded skin" or "nail skin," alluding to the texture of the reptile's scales. On the other hand, the word suspectum originates from Latin, with a meaning close to "suspicious" or "distrustful." It is not clear why this second word is part of the lizard's name; perhaps it is a subtle warning for the next time you encounter one!

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An emblematic creature, the Bald Eagle rules as one of our national animals, symbolizing cherished values of freedom, independence, and strength.

As you know, the bald eagle is not bald at all. Its common name may derive from a mistranslation of its scientific classification: Haliaeetus leucocephalus. Originating from Latin, the word Haliaeetus alludes to its association with coastal areas, translating to "sea eagle." Meanwhile, leucocephalus is an explicit picture of its intimidating and unique appearance, meaning "white head."

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We're all familiar with these clever creatures, the renowned raccoons, with their unmistakable mask-like faces and inclination for nocturnal adventures. Interestingly, both their common and scientific names allude to their peculiar behaviors.

The word "raccoon" originates from Native American languages and it can be translated as "the one that scratches with its hands," highlighting the animal's expert use of its little front legs.

In addition, its scientific name is a combination of two Latin words: Procyon, suggesting a resemblance to dogs, and lotor, translating to "washer," due to the raccoon's curious behavior of wetting or "washing" its food before eating it.

Image: Bryce olsen

Believe it or not, there's no mistake in the title. The American bison's scientific name is actually Bison bison. It's a bit like having your first name and last name match, which would undoubtedly lead to confusion.

Now, let's see why the word appears twice. The first **Bison**refers to the genus to which the American Bison belongs. The second bison indicates the specific species within the Bison genus. Thus, the Bison genuscontains two species: the European bison (Bison bonasus) and the American bison (our dear Bison bison). Sorry, how many times have we already said "bison"?

Image: Jeffrey Eisen

With a wingspan that can stretch up to an impressive 9 feet, our California Condor is one of the continent's largest birds. But besides its formidable size and striking appearance, it also has an interesting scientific name.

**Gymnogyps californianus**is the name of this condor in the scientific world. Curious about its meaning? The term Gymnogyps derives from Greek and can be translated into English as "naked vulture," referring to the bird's characteristic bare head. Meanwhile, **californianus**indicates the bird's deep ties with the state of California, which it has long inhabited, along with other regions.

Image: Liam Wolff at English Wikipedia, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons

But California isn't the only state that borrowed something from ancient languages to name its wildlife! Virginia joins this list, too.

The well-known Virginia opossum, sometimes called the northernmost marsupial in the world, is known to biologists as Didelphis virginiana; let's analyze its meaning.

Didelphis is a Greek term, with di meaning "two" and delphus translating to "womb," alluding to the unique reproductive system of marsupials. What about virginiana? Well, this term gives the Virginia ID to the cute animal, even though it is distributed throughout North America.

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Maybe this animal is not what you could define as a cute little dog, but at least it belongs to the same family. The coyote, scientifically known as Canis latrans, is a mammal native to North America. This mostly solitary creature is not only capable of impressive speeds of 40 miles per hour, but can also jump over 13 feet!

The Latin word Canis celebrates the family to which the coyote belongs, the same family that encompasses domestic dogs and wolves, with which the coyote shares many common features, of course. On the other hand, latrans, also from Latin, translates as "yelping," referring to the coyote's characteristic vocalization.

Image: David Thielen

The pronghorn is a herbivorous mammal, a species of artiodactyl native to our continent. Its scientific name is Antilocapra americana.

As you may already know, americana serves as the species' name, signifying the animal's native habitat in America. Now, the term Antilocapra originates from Greek and is often translated as "opposite to goat," indicating the distinction from goats, relatives of the antelopes.

Want to know the pronghorn's closest living relatives? Those are the giraffe and okapi. If the latter doesn't sound familiar, we recommend you search for a photo of this animal if you are in for a surprise!

Master of wordplay

Are you a night owl? 10 words coined by Shakespeare you need to know

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It’s not always possible to attribute the origin of a precise word to a particular person. However, it is believed that William Shakespeare contributed more than 1,700 terms and expressions to the English language, many of which we still use today. The way Shakespeare invented, reused, and modified words is a living testament to his creativity and innovation. In this article, we have handpicked 10 words and phrases that you probably didn’t know were coined by the genius English poet and playwright. And the next time you use them, remember that you are following in the footsteps of a true linguistic legend!

Image: William Shakespeare, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Loneliness is a sentiment we can all relate to. Who hasn't felt lonely at some point? Feeling sad about being apart from others is universal. But the interesting thing is that this word, which we use frequently in the English language, was first introduced in a play by William Shakespeare.

Written between 1605 and 1608, Coriolanus is a tragedy set in the earliest days of the Roman Republic. In the first scene of Act 4, General Coriolanus, speaks to his mother Volumnia, who tries to convince him not to attack Rome, and says: "Believe 't not lightly-though I go alone, / Like to a lonely dragon that his fen."

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Thanks to William Shakespeare, we have a polite and decent idiom to express we are happy and relieved to see someone leave without resorting to insults and rudeness. What a treat! Although riddance is practically an obsolete term in modern English, the expression "good riddance" has stood the test of time.

Shakespeare first used it in The Merchant of Venice when Portia says to the Prince of Morocco: "A gentle riddance! Draw the curtains, go, / Let all of his complexion choose me so." In this case, the phrase didn’t have the ironic connotation that it would acquire later and that we still use today. That aspect would come with Patroclus' comment in Troilus and Cressida replying to Thersites' insolence when he finally leaves: "A good riddance."

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The word gossip has a long and intricate history. It is believed to derive from the combination of the Old English word sibb, meaning "relative", and the word god. The term godsibb was used to refer to a person spiritually related to another, that is, a godparent. A few centuries later the word evolved into its current form, gossip, and its meaning was extended to anyone who liked to talk about other people's private lives.

However, the verb form we use today, to gossip, is entirely due to Romeo and Juliet's creator. It was Shakespeare who first used the term as a verb in three of his comedies: The Comedy of Errors, All's Well That Ends Well, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Well, no wonder—a good writer is, at heart, a great gossip.

Image: William Shakespeare, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

You may be familiar with this line from Aldous Huxley's famous book published in 1932. But the truth is that Huxley borrowed the title for his dystopian novel from Shakespeare. The English playwright used the phrase ironically for the first time in his play The Tempest. The naïve Miranda, confined since childhood to an island with no contact with men other than her father, says upon seeing some sailors: "O wonder! / How many goodly creatures are there here! / How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, / That has such people in 't."

Today, we use the phrase in the same cynical and ironic way Shakespeare conceived it more than 400 years ago. When something is about to change in history or society but we are not quite confident about the outcome, "brave new world" comes to mind, and it is impossible to resist using it. At least now we know its origin!

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Romeo and Juliet is a symbol of romantic love and is a story that has been adapted thousands of times in literature, film, television, and music. The words used by Shakespeare to describe the landscapes of Verona and the characters’ physical attributes are unforgettable and have remained in the memory of readers for centuries. Even when we are not aware that many of those words were invented or put on paper for the first time under the pen of the genius playwright!

"Thou wilt quarrel with a man for cracking / nuts, having no other reason but because thou / hast hazel eyes. What eye but such an eye would spy / out such a quarrel?" says Mercutio. This is the earliest record of the word hazel in reference to a color, in this case, to describe Romeo’s eyes. Fun fact: in the Elizabethan period, it was considered a reddish-brown color, rather than the greenish-brown we think of today.

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Do you consider yourself a nocturnal person? Someone who prefers to be active at night rather than during the day? If so, you are probably a night owl! But did you know that Shakespeare was the first to use the expression figuratively to describe people keen on nightlife?

In classical literature, the owl was an animal with negative connotations and was typically associated with bad omens. In Shakespeare's plays, they appear frequently, usually to announce that something bad is about to happen. However, in the narrative poem "The Rape of Lucrece," the night owl refers directly to a person: "The dove sleeps fast that this night-owl will catch: / Thus treason works ere traitors be espied." We’ve all felt a bit like a night owl at one time or another, but fortunately, nowadays the expression doesn't carry that negative connotation.

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Shakespeare's fascination with Italy is well known. Renaissance literature was profoundly influenced by the ideas, styles, and themes that emerged in Italy during this period. In the case of Shakespeare, the Italian influence is evident in the settings, themes, characters, and language of his plays.

In the same way that the author recovered terms and expressions from Old English, he also adapted words from other languages that were later incorporated into the popular lexicon. This is the case of the word bandit, which derives from the Italian bandito and literally means "one who is banished," referring to an outlaw who lives by stealing and other misdeeds. The first written record of bandit can be found in the play Timon of Athens.

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Jealousy is a common human emotion that can eat away at a person. Literature has dealt with this topic in many ways, and Shakespeare is one of the authors who has done it most brilliantly. In fact, he coined a term to describe people who suffer from such deep jealousy that they can cause harm to others and themselves: the "Green-Eyed Monster."

In The Merchant of Venice, The Bard had already linked the color green with envy when Portia says: "And shudd'ring fear, and green-eyed jealousy!". Then, in Othello, the arch-villain Iago warns the protagonist, who is blind with jealousy over his wife Desdemona's alleged affair with Cassio: "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on."

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William Shakespeare not only invented words, turned nouns into verbs, and added prefixes, but he's also credited with having coined a few female names that are still very popular today. Miranda, Olivia, Cordelia, and Imogen are just some of them.

This is also the case with Jessica, who first appears in The Merchant of Venice as the rebellious daughter of Shylock. As was his habit, it is believed that the author anglicized a biblical name from the Old Testament —possibly 𝘠𝘪𝘴𝘬á𝘩. Some years later, in the late 18th century, people in Britain began naming their daughters Jessica after the Shakespearean character. Fast forward to this day, the name has crossed the pond, and chances are you have a friend or cousin named Jessica.

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Shakespeare loved to play with language: he invented words, redefined others, and gave new life to thousands of forgotten terms and expressions. As far as we know he especially liked to add the prefix un-. He created or gave new meanings to more than 300 words that begin with it, such as unaware, unreal, uncomfortable, and undress. One of the most curious words in this group is unfriend.

Although the word already existed, it had not been used as a verb before the 17th century. The English author includes it in several of his works to refer to someone who has been left alone, without friends. For example, it appears in the romantic comedy Twelfth Night and King Lear: "Will you, with those infirmities she owes, / Unfriended, new-adopted to our hate." In the 21st century, the term had a revival with the advent of Facebook. Shakespeare could never have imagined the rise of social media, but he would surely be happy that his contributions to language are still relevant today.