We're guilty of a little taxonomical geeking out this morning. And it all started with Carl Linnaeus and Gorilla gorilla gorilla.
Let us explain. One way of wrapping our human heads around the incredible diversity of life on Earth has been to classify and categorise ... and taxonomy is the branch of science that allows us to put that mother of all inventories together. Our taxonomic system might seem like a complicated, moth-eaten thing packed with hard-to-pronounce Latin names, but there's plenty of interesting stuff in there if you know where to look (we did warn you we've been geeking out). Enter Gorilla gorilla gorilla (the guy on right) and the father of modern taxonomy Carl Linnaeus (he's on the left and usually makes an appearance when taxonomic discussions are being had).
“Our taxonomic system might seem like a complicated, moth-eaten thing packed with hard-to-pronounce Latin names, but there's plenty of interesting stuff in there if you know where to look”
So what's special about Gorilla gorilla gorilla? While the majority of scientific names (say, homo sapiens) happily conform to the formula of generic name (name of the genus) followed by a [different] specific epithet (the name of the species), Gorilla gorilla gorilla and other zoological tautonyms embrace repetition and are made up of the same word for both genus and species (in the case of Gorilla gorilla gorilla, there's even an extra repetition to denote the sub-species). So, to prove that taxonomy can be fun, here's a little selection of our favourite tautonymically named creatures.
Let's launch off with the ray species Torpedo torpedo ... which is a suitably intimidating name for an animal that subdues its prey with strong electric shocks (even a newborn Torpedo torpedo is capable of zapping you with up to four volts).
For other scientific names with a little ferocity, check out Tyrannus tyrannus. The tyrant flycatcher's brawn might not rival a dinosuar's (for that, see Tyrannosaurus rex), but the little bird still lives up to its name when the need arises (it's notoriously aggressive when protecting its nest and its alarm calls apparently resemble the hiss of an electric fence).
And when it comes to names that fit the bearer, the wolverine deserves a mention. After all, Gulo gulo (from the Latin word meaning 'glutton') seems like the perfect label for an animal that's such an avid eater it's been known to steal prey from black bears.
For a name with some interesting cranial connections, there's the short-snouted seahorse Hippocampus hippocampus. Its curvy shape is where the human hippocampus (the area of our brain responsible for things like memory formation) got its name ... and it's easy to see the resemblance.
If you're in the mood for something a little more poetic, there's the viper Hypnale hypnale, the butterfly Idea idea and the amoeba Chaos chaos. And to end off, just for a little alliterative kick, try Zera zera (butterfly), Zingha zingha (also butterfly), Zonia zonia (one more butterfly) and Zoma zoma (a spider). We hope you got all that ... because we're not about to repeat ourselves.
Animal Behaviour
