Step junonia ab illo nemo nocere Faciam
 |
| Semele bellastriata (Conrad, 1837) cancellate semele |
 |
| Shweekie on Tigertail Beach, Marco Island |
Isn't that a gorgeous shell. My niece Shweekie found it on Marco Island during our shelling trip last week. It is definitely her prize find of the day. We just couldn't figure out what it was. I looked in all my shell ID books & at all the online sites I use - nothing conclusive. So I did what any social networker in the 21st Century would do. I posed the question to my homies on Facebook.
In a classification system begun by Swedish botanist Carl von Linne in the 18th century, every known animal and plant (living and fossil) has a Latin name. The classification system begins at the widest level (Kingdom = animal or plant) and moves down through Phyllum, Class, Order, Family, and finally Genus and Species, which make up the two-part (binomial) name of each plant or animal.
You can remember these levels this way with a mnemonic - Kings Play Chess On Friday Generally Speaking. Or you could use Kings Play Chess On Fuzzy Green Stools. How about Kiss Pigs Carefully Or Face Grimy Smiles.Well, you get the idea.
Kings (Kingdom) =animal
Play (Phyllum) =Mollusca
Chess (Class) =Bivalve
On (Order) =Veneroida
Friday, (Family) =Semelidae
Generally (Genus) =Semele
Speaking(Species) =semele bellastriata (Turton, 1819) cancellate semele
So, mystery solved. This is the scientific or Latin name for Shweekie's Marco Island find. No longer to be known as "pretty little purple shell". It is now Semele bellastriata (Conrad, 1837) cancellate semele.
Since I am planning a trip to a few shell shows this year I have decided that maybe it is time for me to try to learn the Latin names for the most common shells. Depending on the locale, a shell can have several common names. Take a moon snail for instance. I've heard it called a shark's eye. In the UK they call it a necklace snail. They are actually 2 similar shells from the same family but different genus.
I figure if the Hubbs can spot a football team by their helmet logo & colors and give me their stats for the last 50 years. I can learn a few Latin shell names.
 |
| Tellina linata Turton, 1819 Rose petal Tellin Tigertail Beach, Marco Island |
So I used the guidelines from the rules to enter the scientific class of the Sanibel Shell Show and started labeling my shells like this :
Genus (capitalized) species (not-capitalized)
Author & date
Common name
Other pertinent data (optional)
The Author & date refer to the person who first described and named the species and the year of authorship.
When author and date are in parenthesis, it means that the species has been reclassified into a
genus different from the one in which the author originally placed it.
It figures when I finally decide to learn a new language, it's a dead language that no one speaks anymore. I can see me now on Sanibel "Woo Hoo I just found a
I have enough trouble remembering where I put my reading glasses, so my poor mind can't wrap itself around all the kingdom, phyllum, et al for more than a minute or two. You're a better egg than me!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Schweekie!
ReplyDeleteI've tried to learn the latin names..... and I'm just not having fun at it (aka- it's too hard!) so for me, I like to have fun with the names. I like my candy too much. You my dear have a much bigger brain than I so it will be much easier for you. You should start working on a scientific display for the Sanibel Shell Fair and Show!!! You would be awesome. Get in there and start scrappin with the big dogs!
ps-so how would one pronounce "cancellate semele"? can-sil-it (accent on it?) sa-meel (accent on meel)?
Very awesome! That's like the heron we saw that was so shaggy! You wouldn't think you could see anything out of the ordinary...but you CAN! This shell is amazing! WHAT A FIND! ♥
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty shell! You would think with 20+ years of legalese running amok in my brain that I could learn the proper names and pronunciation of shells... not happening! But I have to admit, that Scaphella Junonia does have a nice ring to it!
ReplyDelete~ Tracy
Nice find and pretty shell. :)
ReplyDeleteHey Karen, thanks for stopping by my blog the other day to check out my finds. I always enjoy seeing what you have found as well. I found some good shells that day...but still no junonia's for me! One day...:)
ReplyDelete