Capitalisation of Latin names

[Kevin]

I've noticed this more and more on here, Achatina Fulica, Achatina Immaculata, Archachatina Marginata var. Ovum etc..

These are all an incorrect way of writing the species names in Latin, not that it matters so much, but I thought I'd post the correct way.

The genus always has a capital letter, the species name doesn't have a capital letter, even when it's named after a person or place. It should also be in italics, though this is not important so much. So, it should be Achatina fulica etc..

[Evil Angel]

I write both in capital letters because I'm simply writing their names, and I've always been taught names should begin with capitals. If I was writing some sort of official paper on them I would of course write the proper latin version (Achatina fulica), but while I'm only writing it in a non-official way I think it's fine as they don't have non-latin versions of the names that I could use instead hehe! ;D

[Kevin]

YoU cOuld saY thaT WItH anYthIng ThougH, It DoeSnt MakE It RiGht.

As I've done there, it's simply the incorrect use of their actual species name. If you named a snail then the name would have a capital letter, the species name is different. It's the same with humans, Homo sapiens, Kevin Davies etc..

It's not like its a big deal, just to give the species name a capital letter is never correct is all.

[muddydragon]

It can be awkward with them not having a common name but on here people generally know what you mean if you just say fulica or margie or suts etc as the common name, and they of course would not be capitalised just like the common names of other animals (like horse, dog, cow for example) so if anything if you were using Achatina fulica as a common name rather than its scientific name it should be all lowercase.

However it doesn't matter, it's just a forum i think people know what to do really. Forinstance i can never be bothered about putting them in italics here yet when i read through people's work i go crazy at them for not putting it in italics. The number of published! molecular papers i've seen where they've put (For example) arabidopsis thaliana with no capital and no italics grrrrrrrrrrr.. it makes me cross too, but just on a hobbiest forum? it's not too important as long as people understand what they're saying

[Evil Angel]

My snails don't have individual names, so all of my albino ovum's names are 'Archachatina Marginata Ovum Albino'. It would be too hard to give my snails individual names, so I name by species, variant and colour, and that becomes their 'pet name', I don't write it as if it were in any way Latin, but just simply as their name, like 'Achatina Achatina' the same way as if their names were 'Davie Jones' or 'Peachy Pear'

[Kevin]

That's fair enough, I guess you don't apply that rule to other people's snails then, since you haven't named them?

[brunni]

Kevin you are absolutely correct ! To avoid any possible confusion, the binominal Latin ( note I did not write latin ) name should be followed by the author and date ( the name of the person who published the description and the date of publication).
Thus Achatina fulica is better written as Achatina fulica Bowditch, 1822 ( you'd be surprised how many websites have it wrong ! ).
Kevin could published a description of Achatina fulica in 2013, which is entirely different from the species described in1822. Use of the author's name and description date is absolutely definitive and precludes any confusion.
The earliest description has priority ( is accepted as valid ) in the above-mentioned example where the same name is used more than once.

The Latin name is the scientific name following the Linnean systematics of nomenclature and is the easiest way to properly define a species and avoid confusion.
Most species also have a common name, e.g. tea snail or fuli/fulis/fulica, and a personal name e.g. Spot or Slimer.....use of these names may be confusing when referring to a specific species.

[Evil Angel]

Of course I do, partly out of habit, partly because my phone has now started auto-correcting non capital Latin versions to my version and its easier to let the phone do it rather than edit it all the time, and some times I do it because I personally have started to like it being in capitals and surely no one else would be bothered if I wrote 'like this' or 'LiKe ThAt' as that's simply up to me how I write it and they can write it how they wish

As I said, this is only a forum, not some scientific paper, so what does it matter whether we say Fulica or fulica here when it is only casual talk?

[Kevin]

As I've already wrote, it doesn't really matter that much, it's the same with all grammar, I just thought I'd let everyone who doesn't actually know the correct way (or closer to it) know.

For years names such as fulica has been misspelt as fulicia, fuclia, fullica etc.. that's much worse and can create confusion, for instance puylaepti was actually thought of as a different species when it was puylaerti spelt wrong. And there's the Subulina octana/octona misspelling. Another, more recent one I've seen in a few places now is grevillea, there's no such variant, it's grevillei.

Surely it's not a bad thing to at least encourage a more correct way of addressing the actual species, I won't judge anyone who chooses not to, obviously, just I'm pointing out there's a more correct way to go about it should someone want to, ultimately it's upto individuals how they would like to type anything.

[Kevin]

For the record this thread wasn't aimed at anyone in particular, reading over the posts again it may have been construed otherwise, if I've offended anyone by suggesting they are incorrectly writing species names then I apologise.

A recent thread title prompted this thread, I was only trying to help spread information about snails, which I only ever do on here.

[mellie82]

I'm sure most people on here already know how to spell the names and use proper grammar but this is an interesting post for those who don't?

[Evil Angel]

I know some people do make these spelling mistakes with names and such, however they could know the correct way to spell it but simply be in a rush when writing posts as I often am, and I would hate to be the one to lay critisium to someone else’s grammer or spelling, I’m sure if it was important to them that it was spelt correctly they would bother to look it up themselves or put more time into writing it out.
Spellings for me aren’t important, as long as it’s readable anyway.
For instance –
When I handwrite: ‘grevillei’
Computer: ‘Grevillei’ - Just For The Fact I Love Using My Caps Key
Phone: ‘Grevillea’ or sometimes ‘grevillie’

I’m not bothered if people think I can’t spoll or that my Gr’amme.r is incorrect, just as long as it’s readable. If it were something official of course I would put more effort in, but for a causal-chat type forum I don’t think it’s nessersey for me to go over my posts (or anyone else’s) and correct all the silly mistakes in them, most people have a lot more going on in their lives to worry about perfecting every single word or sentence in causal posts that’s all, but I’m sure when writing something that mattered they would, as I would, make sure spelling and grammer was correct.

[Kevin]

Mar 28, 2013 7:56:46 GMT mellie82 said:

I'm sure most people on here already know how to spell the names and use proper grammar but this is an interesting post for those who don't?

I hope so, that was my only intention. I'm sure I was guilty of it as well when I joined, but I'm sure I learned the correct way through this site, and have chosen to use that, if anyone doesn't want to, then that's fine as well.

I should have learned through eBay that trying to suggest anything where someone in a situation can be wrong, especially with snails it seems, leads to all sorts of conflict. Capitalisation of species names is not important at all, as I think I've wrote every post in this thread, but suggesting the correct use for anyone who actually wants to use it wouldn't cause any counter argument on say, an arachnid forum, but whenever I've tried to suggest it with snails, and especially over misidentified or misspelt species someone always knows better or takes offense.

If we did an experiment and asked everyone to spell fulica as fulicia for two or three months, the usage would almost certainly spread beyond this forum. I think I've seen octana on a proper scientific website, it started through a misspelling, so in that instance this isn't just some casual forum.