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A bottlenose dolphin? Or Tursiops truncatus? Why biologists give organisms those strange, unpronounceable names

  • Written by Nicholas Green, Assistant Professor of Biology, Kennesaw State University
imageThe system of scientific naming began in the 1700s.Westend61 via Getty Images

Most people would call it a “field mouse,” but a scientist would ask, “Was it Peromyscus maniculatus? Or Peromyscus leucopus?”

Scientists use a system of complicated-sounding names to refer to everyday creatures, a practice heavily lampooned in the...

Read more: A bottlenose dolphin? Or Tursiops truncatus? Why biologists give organisms those strange,...

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