Thought maybe some of you would find this interesting

One of the chams has the common name "Strange-nosed Chameleon" Really? Strange-nosed? What the...was the biologist stoned when he named that one?:D Dude, what a strange nose on that one...why, I think I will name it the Strange-Nosed Chameleon!
 
One of the chams has the common name "Strange-nosed Chameleon" Really? Strange-nosed? What the...was the biologist stoned when he named that one?:D Dude, what a strange nose on that one...why, I think I will name it the Strange-Nosed Chameleon!

AHAHAHHAHAHA ROFL! that comment ices the cake! straight up eh? some of these names are really just so.... obvious lol. heres another one.

Scientest 1 "*puff puff** so....what we have here is... a... chaaaa-mae-leo. right?
Scientist 2"....yeah i think so..."
Scientist 1 " well we gotta name it something right? what rhymes with chamaeleo?"
Scientist 2 "**puff puff** uhh,,,, chamaeleo?"
Scientist 1 "Dammit Lyle you done it again! we shall call it.. Chamaeleo Chamaeleo.. aww shucks Lyle! they're gonna love it"
Scientist 2 "well alrigghhtttt!"

moments later...

Scientist 1 "*puff puff** so... what we have here is .... a.... dilepis. right?"

lol oh gosh i feel like one of those scientists right now :p
 
That site has been around for some years. Too bad he doesn't fix it up so you can access all the drop-down lists and so its complete.
 
That site has been around for some years. Too bad he doesn't fix it up so you can access all the drop-down lists and so its complete.

I thought I was the only one who couldn't get the drop down to work so I was just keeping quiet. Thanks.:eek: I knew it had to be a bit old as I wanted info on my tav's and they were still in bradypodin.
 
Unfortunately the list of species on the link you provided is out of date. It does not reflect the current classification and status of many species and is missing many species. I try to maintain a current list of all species and subspecies currently described and recognized, as well as what I feel is the most appropriate common name for each here: http://www.chameleoninfo.com/Species_Profiles.html

One of the chams has the common name "Strange-nosed Chameleon" Really? Strange-nosed? What the...was the biologist stoned when he named that one?:D Dude, what a strange nose on that one...why, I think I will name it the Strange-Nosed Chameleon!

Well, actually biologists typically do not assign common names to species. Common names are unofficial by their very definition. At best, a scientist can recommend a common name but there is no rules or structure about making them or on when they should or should not be followed. Scientists name species by their scientific names, which are official and governed by a set of rules regarding how species must be named, etc. In many instances, common names are derived from the scientific name, however, as the species name is often a latinized description of the animal itself.

In the case you mention above, the Strange-nosed Chameleon typically refers to Kinyongia xenorhina (originally described as "Chamaeleon xenorhinus" in 1901). The name "xenorhinus" is derived from the greek words for strange ("xenos") and nose ("rhinos"). In this case the describing scientist named the species by way of describing some of its characteristics (they do have a bizarre rostral appendage) and the meaning (etymology) of its name is used as one of the common names often seen in reference to this species.

Chris
 
In the case you mention above, the Strange-nosed Chameleon typically refers to Kinyongia xenorhina (originally described as "Chamaeleon xenorhinus" in 1901). The name "xenorhinus" is derived from the greek words for strange ("xenos") and nose ("rhinos"). In this case the describing scientist named the species by way of describing some of its characteristics (they do have a bizarre rostral appendage) and the meaning (etymology) of its name is used as one of the common names often seen in reference to this species.

Well there goes my Fast Times at Ridgemont High theory :) Forgive my lame attempt at humor Chris, just having a little fun there. I have probably read too many Far Side Cartoons over the years. :D I do appreciate science and scientists, and your work in particular, which I have been reviewing over the last few months getting ready for my little guy. He is a normal-snouted chameleon as far as I can tell :p
 
Well there goes my Fast Times at Ridgemont High theory :) Forgive my lame attempt at humor Chris, just having a little fun there. I have probably read too many Far Side Cartoons over the years. :D I do appreciate science and scientists, and your work in particular, which I have been reviewing over the last few months getting ready for my little guy. He is a normal-snouted chameleon as far as I can tell :p

No worries. Just wanted to clarify where the names come from and which are/are not official with regard to scientific and common names. As you can see from the etymology of the scientific name, your humor wasn't too far off.

Chris
 
AHAHAHHAHAHA ROFL! that comment ices the cake! straight up eh? some of these names are really just so.... obvious lol. heres another one.

Scientest 1 "*puff puff** so....what we have here is... a... chaaaa-mae-leo. right?
Scientist 2"....yeah i think so..."
Scientist 1 " well we gotta name it something right? what rhymes with chamaeleo?"
Scientist 2 "**puff puff** uhh,,,, chamaeleo?"
Scientist 1 "Dammit Lyle you done it again! we shall call it.. Chamaeleo Chamaeleo.. aww shucks Lyle! they're gonna love it"
Scientist 2 "well alrigghhtttt!"

moments later...

Scientist 1 "*puff puff** so... what we have here is .... a.... dilepis. right?"

lol oh gosh i feel like one of those scientists right now :p

Actually, Chamaeleo chamaeleon was originally described as "Lacerta chamaeleon" in the 1700s. It was the first species of chameleon described and it wasn't until later when it was realized the species wasn't as closely related to other Lacertids, but actually representative of its own family, that the genus Chamaeleo and the family Chamaeleonidae created. Since "Lacerta chamaeleon" was the first described species of chameleon, they assigned this species as the type species for the genus and family and used the same name. With how that happened explained, I definitely agree that scientists aren't always the most creative. If you look at all the different species of plant and animal from Madagascar, its amazing how many different species are named "madagascariensis", for example.

Chris
 
Unfortunately the list of species on the link you provided is out of date. It does not reflect the current classification and status of many species and is missing many species. I try to maintain a current list of all species and subspecies currently described and recognized, as well as what I feel is the most appropriate common name for each here: http://www.chameleoninfo.com/Species_Profiles.html


Chris

thanks for the link Chris. i realy just picked one and the way the format was on that one kinda had me guessing how up-to-date it actually was. still thought it was cool and interesting
 
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