[Taxacom] Catastrophic loss

[John Grehan]

well, we do have 'wooly bear' caterpillars :)

On Sun, Jan 24, 2021 at 2:30 PM Tony Rees via Taxacom <
taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu> wrote:

> 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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> >
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