This is more of what I call, "a silly thread", more than anything, but it's actually a pretty interesting topic to discuss, etymology of animal names is quite intriguing and sometimes can be quite creative naming for certain species, or sometimes some of the laziest names for any animal. But some names can be quite peculiar. So what strange animal names come to mind? These names could be unrelated to the animals ecology at all, or could just be flat-out random. :Note that I'm talking about common names here, not Latin. Have fun!
does this count? Oh well. The Hellbender. It sounds like it be a bada*s reptile or something. But nope! It’s a salamander! Okay so... is it poisonous? Or venomous? Nope, just a salamander with a cool weird name.
If crazy animal names are what you want you may wish to look up a small Caribbean wrasse with the scientific name Halichoeres bivittatus...
Mind you, have you ever tried explaining British Gulls to a non-birder? Herring Gulls have no particular connection with herrings, Black-headed Gulls have a brown or a white head, while if it has a black head it could be a Mediterranean Gull, not the most common gull in the Mediterranean or a Little Gull, which amazingly is actually small! Common Gulls are hardly ever the most abundant gulls, and any Iceland Gulls we get are visitors from Greenland! No wonder most people call them seagulls, although the true sea gull is the Kittiwake. Everyone following so far?
Weirdly enough the Invisible Rail is a species that I actually hadn't heard of, so I'm definitely going to do some reading on that bird.
Yes, names of Many animals can be Highly confusing, Reef fish for example have way to many names that don't really make sense. I can imagine this would be frustrating with gulls.
Hmmmmm I'm curious, what is the Etymology of the Name? Its never something that I really thought about for the genus Ortalis.
Rock-haunting Ringtail Screaming Hairy Armadillo Association Européenne pour l'Etude et la Conservation des Lémuriens' Sportive Lemur Acrobatic Cavy Unexpected Cotton Rat Destructive Pygmy Rice Rat Distinguished Oldfield Mouse Strange Big-eared Brown Bat Ultimate Shrew Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Pitta-like Ground-Roller Invisible Rail Inaccessible Rail Standard-winged Nightjar (the wings do not look standard!) Diabolical Nightjar Glowing Puffleg Swan Goose Northern Rough-winged Swallow Predicted Antwren Happy Wren Perplexing Scrubwren Growling Riflebird Oleaginous Hemispingus Superciliaried Hemispingus Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler Rufous-tailed Plantcutter Sad Flycatcher Greater Pewee Strange-tailed Tyrant Uncertain Worm Lizard Moist Forest Anole Good Anole Lozenge-marked Bicycle-Dragon Lake Disappointment Dragon Horrible Spiny Lizard Bocourt's Terrific Skink Emo Skink Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko Chicken Turtle Impressed Tortoise Mountain Chicken Problem Squeaker Frog Mini ature Mini mum Mini scule Hole-in-the-head Frog Confusing Rocket Frog Dyeing Poison Dart Frog Demonic Poison Dart Frog Pleasing Poison Dart Frog Salty Rocket Frog Piping Peeping Frog Dirty Rainfrog Pobblebonk Hellbender Hell Hollow Salamander Angry Worm Eel Unicorn Leatherjacket Humuhumunukunukuapua'a Snooty Wrasse Puddingwife Stripey Lighting-man Threefin Super Klipfish Red Terror Humpnose Bigeye Bream Fish Doctor Mouth Almighty Old Wife Real Bastard Trumpeter Atlantic Spiny Lumpsucker Abyssal Assfish Bloater Rasbora dies Dr. Fish Pineapple Fish Whalehead Dreamer Red-lipped Batfish Half-naked Hatchetfish Obese Dragonfish Gummy Shark Tasseled Wobbegong Genus Ittibittium Sportinggoods Tryonia Flamingo Tongue Snail Little Ass Cowry Uber Milk Moon Snail Desirable Flabellina Orange-peel Dorid Pikachu Nudibranch Jolly Green Giant Bus Stop Nudibranch California Bonfire Leaf Sheep Obese Pond Snail Ba humbugi Changeable Mantleslug Yam Babybody Snail Flower Vase Cock-eyed Squid Wonderpus Fatmucket Green Floater Spectaclecase Electric Fireclam Sorting Hat Spider (scientific name is Eriovixia gryffindori) Alien Butt Spider (AKA Outstanding Orbweaver) Sombrero Spider No-eyed Big-eyed Spider Sparklemuffin Queen-of-the-Huntsmen David Bowie Spider Stephen Colbert's Trapdoor Spider Barack Obama's Trapdoor Spider Mule Fat Blister Mite Wretched Olethreutes Deceptive Apotomis Ugly-nest Caterpillar Moth Exasperating Platynota Batman Moth Edible Monkey Hummingbird Hawkmoth Greater Death's Head Hawkmoth Restricted Demon Chocolate Demon Redundant Skipper Mountain Sandman Google-eyed Eighty-eight Neglected Eighty-eight Battling Glider Question Mark Pirate Orange-breasted Freak American Snout Sad Underwing White Witch Agreeable Tiger Moth Police Car Moth The Uncertain Slowpoke Moth Confused Grateful Midget The Clay Unknown Waistcoat The Brick The Chestnut Adorable Brocade Hologram Moth The Sorcerer Delightful Dagger Poetry Moth Joker Pikachu Moth Dwarf Pug Bad-wing Moth Flax Windowmaker Clara's Satin Moth Coffee-loving Pyrausta Donald Trump Moth The Lackey Drinker Moth Cephalonomia pinkfloydi Beewolf Aha ha Pison eu Unequal Cellophane Bee Dilemma Orchid Bee Sad Cuckoo Leafcutter Bee Miserable Mining Bee Grandfather's Wood Ant Cautious Ant Polistes instabilis Lucius Malfoy Wasp American Crudely-craved Warrior Beetle Moderately Smooth Warrior Beetle Black Clock Agra vation Agra cadabra Anophthalmus hitleri Odd Beetle Twice-stabbed Lady Beetle Diabolical Ironclad Beetle Pie-dish Beetle UFO Darkling Beetle Pleasing Fungus Beetle Gelae donut Gelae fish Gelae bean Slightly Musical Conehead Differential Grasshopper Black Friday Alarm Clock Squawker Ebony Boghaunter Yellow Fly of the Dismal Swamp Pieza pie Pieza kake Pieza rhea Hanging Thief Parastratiosphecomyia stratiosphecomyioides Mediterranean Shame-faced Crab Lawn Shrimp Killer Shrimp Baked Bean Ice Cream Cone Worm Disorderly-bristled Stumpy Earthworm Giant Thorny-headed Worm of Swine Fried Egg Jelly Headless Chicken Monster Bloodbelly Comb Jelly And the best one of them all: Spoiler Genus Anticlimax
Thanks for the amazing list @birdsandbats! I have to say I've heard of quite a lot of those animals, but there are some I havent' and I can't wait to divulge farther into those fascinating species. Quite a long list, I would have had fun making that for sure.
