[Taxacom] Catastrophic loss

[Tony Rees]

Hi Scott,

I think that years ago, toys of the animal were labelled "koala bears" and
marketed to kids, particularly overseas, which is why some of our U.S.
friends in particular may have picked up on that name by osmosis. Here on
Taxacom we are much more discerning of course!!

They do look a little bear like - and "bear" (arctos) is part of the
scientific name, showing that inaccuracies can become enshrined...

Best - Tony
Tony Rees, New South Wales, Australia
https://about.me/TonyRees


On Mon, 25 Jan 2021 at 06:17, Scott Thomson <scott.thomson321 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I think Tony its an Australian thing, I too as an Australian never use
> Koala Bear and it grates for me too. As you say its just Koala, and why it
> ever had Bear added is beyond me cause they neither look like or act like
> true bears. Though when the males get into a good fight I suppose they can
> sound like them.
>
> Cheers Scott
>
> On Sun, Jan 24, 2021 at 3:54 PM Tony Rees via Taxacom <
> taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu> wrote:
>
>> Well I dunno... here in Australia we do indeed have lots of common names
>> based on misleading external resemblances... we have Australian salmon
>> that
>> are not salmon, as you say silky oaks that are not oaks, Australian
>> magpies
>> that are not magpies... All fine with me since these have become the
>> "legitimate" common names. However the common name for the koala is the
>> koala, pure and simple. "Koala bear" just grates... - and makes me think
>> that the user should be educated to know better (sorry if this offends,
>> maybe it is just me assuming a superiority when I should not). All right,
>> I'll shut up now, and run away fast!!
>>
>> Tony Rees, New South Wales, Australia
>> https://about.me/TonyRees
>>
>>
>> On Mon, 25 Jan 2021 at 04:50, Richard Jensen via Taxacom <
>> taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu> wrote:
>>
>> > Tony Reese wrote:
>> >
>> > >>(1) "Koala bear-like animal with carnivorous teeth" - no bear
>> references
>> > >>PLEASE!! Koalas are koalas, pure and simple, and about as far away
>> > >>(phylogenetically) from bears as you can get and still be a mammal.
>> >
>> > Oh no! Gone is "Teddy Bear"; so to the "Australian silver oak"; no more
>> > "seahorses"; extinction of "lady bugs"; disappearance of "butterfly
>> weed";?
>> >
>> > I was not aware that Koala bear was a name of confusion, based on
>> illusion,
>> > or simply allusion. Do we really believe such names can deceive? Or can
>> we
>> > forebear, with little despair, that names we all know, from quite long
>> ago,
>> > need not agree with phylogeny?
>> >
>> > Cheers,
>> >
>> > Dick
>> > --
>> > Richard Jensen, Professor Emeritus
>> > Department of Biology
>> > Saint Mary's College
>> > Notre Dame, IN 46556
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>
>
> --
> Scott Thomson
>
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