The complete etymology of the Australasian Chelidae (Testudines:Pleurodira)
by Jan Matiaska
Even though the naming of species, etymology, is a very important part of the taxonomic classification and the nomenclature system in general, the meaning of binomial names is not always straight forward. Even naturalists and scientists, who take the usage of the Latin and Greek names for granted, might not always recognise the true meaning of a particular name. Because of multiple meanings, one who translates a specific epithet into other language needs to know the reason why a particular name was chosen.
Some early descriptions of Australian chelids
were very exact and detailed and contained at least partial information
on generic and specific epithets, but some were very brief which means a
lot of information is hard to trace or completely missing. Fortunately,
because majority of early works on Chelidae was done in Europe,
many specific epithets chosen by authors were closely related to the morphology
of the described species. It is because these authors rarely knew the type
locality, let alone the species' habitat or natural history so all they
could rely on was the appearance of holotypes. Nowadays, descriptions of
new species mostly contain the etymology section which explains the meaning
of a particular specific name.
Throughout the history, authors either chose
a morphological character (i.e. oblong carapace) which they used to describe
a species or they named a species in honour of a particular person (i.e.
Dr Steindachner). In the last decade, some authors decided to use Aboriginal
names for newly described species (i.e. Macrochelodina burrungandjii).
The paper includes both living and extinct
species listed in alphabetical order. Only currently valid species are taken
in account according to the Chelidae genera phylogeny as adapted
from Georges and Thomson (2004). The binomial names used in the manuscript
are in line with the binomial (Linnean) system of nomenclature which is
subject to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), the
official body responsible for providing and regulating the system for ensuring
that every animal has a unique and universally accepted scientific name.
The purpose of this manuscript is to explain the meaning of both generic and specific names of all Australasian chelids and provide additional information on authors, dates, and original names given to particular species.
Australasian Chelidae genera (listed in alphabetical order): Chelodina Elseya Elusor Emydura Macrochelodina Pseudemydura Rheodytes |
Click on the genus name to view the etymology of both the generic name and the specific epithets of particular species.