I was thinking about the term bastard in animal names such as the Bastard Dory, Bastard Grunt Fish and Bastard Hartebeest. Why bastard? And what other "bastard" animals are there?
Bastard is coming from the Dutch language "bastaard" and means hybrid - not pure. The first researchers who gave animals a name thought in some cases that the animals they gave a name where mixes of different other species and that why they called them bastard.
Two other 'bastard' animals come to mind: 1/ Cetti's Warbler in Spanish is Ruisenor Bastardo, 'Bastard Nightingale', reflecting the idea that some of its notes are reminiscent of Nightingale ('Ruisenor') but that it's nothing like such a good singer. 2/ My dog, on a bad day
The mouse is eponymous: it should really be called Bastard's Big-footed Mouse (Macrotarsomys bastardi). It's named after a French naturalist, Eugène Joseph Bastard.
I wondered about that with it having an "i" at the end of bastard but then thought surely no one has bastard as surname?
I guess so but if my surname was Bastard I think I'd change it. Imagine situations where you're asked to give a surname only to reply Bastard, in a best case scenario you'd be met with a shocked expression and then sympathy after explaining I that it really is your name, in the worst case you'd just be laughed at.