24 Jul
2011
24 Jul
'11
5:06 p.m.
For reasons to emerge, Fred's rhinoceromania led me to ask Corey for examples of Linnaean binomials(!) where genus = species. He promptly found 24 animals at http://www.sporcle.com/games/KyleBarron/same_genus_species , causing me to kick myself for not being able to remember so many of them, including Genetta genetta, mentioned to me by Whit Diffie, who owned a Genetta tigrina. This list must be very incomplete, because I found Gulo gulo before seeing it. But some namesmiths seem to shun these "monomials" for sounding childish or something. E.g., Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris. And whoever named the black rhinoceros was just having fun: diceros bicornis! --rwg May he was seeing double after attempting a cholecystectomy?