# Latin name for species



## Aurbis (Oct 26, 2010)

I realise that some people use fantasy inspired creatures, but for those of us whose fursonas are based on real animals, how many of you actually use the Latin name for your species?


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## Ozriel (Oct 26, 2010)

I rarely do.
Since my toon's a hybrid, it would be one helluva long latin name.


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## Gavrill (Oct 27, 2010)

I don't know why I would considering very few people know the animal.


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## CynicalCirno (Oct 27, 2010)

Knowing the latin name, but not knowing the animal. It's obvious. People think learning the latin name will make them smart and experts on that animal. Everyone can just copypasta it from wikipedia.
Before making a fursona based on a real animal, at least know the animal. Not by playing it out, by actually knowing facts.


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## RayO_ElGatubelo (Oct 27, 2010)

_Panthera onca_ here!

Where do I add the _Sapiens_ part though?


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## kanbiyume (Oct 27, 2010)

I know mine vaguely. "Vaguely" meaning I know parts of it, but can't spell it for the life of me. I rarely use it for that reason, but when I CAN spell it correctly from memory, then I shall use it more, because I personally think it sounds really cool._ :mrgreen:
_


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## Aurbis (Oct 27, 2010)

kanbiyume said:


> I know mine vaguely. "Vaguely" meaning I know parts of it, but can't spell it for the life of me. I rarely use it for that reason, but when I CAN spell it correctly from memory, then I shall use it more, because I personally think it sounds really cool._ :mrgreen:
> _


 
What Cynical means to say is that he thinks the majority of people who use the Latin name for a real animal that their fursona is based off of don't know shit about said animal. I hope he wasn't implying that I'm one of these people, because he'd be sadly mistaken in this assumption. Besides, I don't have a fursona. I just like Canids and Gray Wolves happen to be my favourite. And yes, I know a great deal about them.


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## Ratte (Oct 28, 2010)

I like to every once in a while.  I don't for my fictionals and hybrids, though.


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## Catilda Lily (Oct 28, 2010)

I did when I first started.


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## Fay V (Oct 28, 2010)

Yep, for both the species that Fay gets features from. I like learning the latin names for things, though I don't really see why most would know the latin name for their fursona.


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## Oovie (Oct 28, 2010)

I wouldn't, even if Cracticus tibicen sounds pretty spiffy. Seeing Magpie you may as well immediately recognize the species (though as those little European Magpies most likely), if I put Cracticus tibicen instead you wouldn't have the slightest clue.


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## Riley (Oct 28, 2010)

I know the Latin name, but never use it since that seems A) unnecessary, and B) it sounds kind of...pretentious.

"Mmmh yeeeees, my personal anthropomorphological alter-ego of sorts if of the _Lontra Canedensis_ variety, old chap.  Guffaw."


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## Citrakayah (Oct 28, 2010)

Not really. Citrakayah is Sanskrit for spotted body however, which is how cheetahs got their name.


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## Lobar (Oct 28, 2010)

Pineapple-ness aside, my character is basically _sciurus carolinensis_, but due to his odd mutation I suppose he should be called _sciurus ananas_.


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## TheJewelKitten (Nov 6, 2010)

I do :]


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## KarabinerCoyote (Nov 15, 2010)

_Canis Latrans Rocketus_ works for me.


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## Shadowwolf (Nov 15, 2010)

I use it pretty frequently, since I am a taxonomy nerd and mine is so easy to remember. _Axis axis_, baby ;3


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## Beta Link (Nov 16, 2010)

I used to use the scientific name for the common raven (corvus corax). I don't now, because I realized that if I was going to be scientifimical about it, I shouldn't use "corvus corax" because an anthropomorphic common raven is not the same as an ordinary common raven, and thus shouldn't have the same scientific species name. I tried coming up with a few alternatives (one was "corvus humanus"), but gave up because I don't know the first thing about how to properly name species.


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## Shadowwolf (Nov 16, 2010)

As silly as this will sound, I believe the proper taxonomy for an anthropomorphic raven would be _Homo corvus corax_. Homo, being the name of our humanoid genus.


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## Vo (Nov 16, 2010)

I used _Lepus californicus_ for a while but then I realized no one gives a shit so I changed it to "Hare".


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## Deo (Nov 16, 2010)

_Deo vacuus_ or _Deus vacuus_ depending on how you wish to translate it is Latin for "hollow god" or "without god".


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## Jesie (Nov 16, 2010)

Alligator mississippiensis. Or Lagarto, which is taken already. To get facy you could call the furry anthro gator 'Hominidadegator mississippiensis.'

Really, yer just best off callin' me Gator...



And Deo, I didn't know your name was your species Latin name.


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## Shadowwolf (Nov 16, 2010)

Jack.is said:


> I used _Lepus californicus_ for a while but then I realized no one gives a shit so I changed it to "Hare".


 
I care D:


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## Willow (Nov 16, 2010)

_Canis lupus_ (black variant)

I don't use it very often or at all, but it's on my written ref. I add on black variant just because black wolves are a color variant of gray wolves. 

Something like that.


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## Vo (Nov 17, 2010)

Heh. There's always someone. :3


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## Deo (Nov 17, 2010)

Jesie said:


> And Deo, I didn't know your name was your species Latin name.


Oh derp it's not. It's Latin but the species name for tasmanian devils is _Sarcophilus harrisii_ meaning Harris's meat-lover.


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## Jesie (Nov 17, 2010)

Deovacuus said:


> Oh derp it's not. It's Latin but the species name for tasmanian devils is _Sarcophilus harrisii_ meaning Harris's meat-lover.


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## RayO_ElGatubelo (Nov 17, 2010)

I thought the way to make a species anthro was to make the species name _Sapiens_.

An anthro fox, for example, would be _Vulpes Sapiens_.


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## Shadowwolf (Nov 17, 2010)

RayO_ElGatubelo said:


> I thought the way to make a species anthro was to make the species name _Sapiens_.
> 
> An anthro fox, for example, would be _Vulpes Sapiens_.


 
But there are so many different types of foxes. To just say '_Vulpes sapiens_' makes no sense... Partly because _Vulpes_ is only one genus of fox, and also because '_Vulpes_' in and of itself doesn't really mean anything in particular. To say '_Vulpes sapiens_' you are basically just calling yourself a generic mix-match of all 11 (or 13) species of fox found in the _Vulpes_ genus. _Vulpes_ doesn't even include the bat-eared fox, or the gray fox, which are both still very much foxes. 

Furthermore, since '_sapiens_' is Latin for 'knowledge' (wisdom, intelligence, etc), '_Vulpes sapiens_' would simply suggest an intelligent, albeit otherwise normal looking fox. Perhaps a fox that could talk, but still very much an animal, because it would be classified in the genus Vulpes. 

Placing the genus classification of _Homo_ in front of all of this makes much more sense. 

Let's take the swift fox (_Vulpes zerda_) for example. By placing _Homo_ in front of the animal's scientific name, the fox's genus (_Vulpes_) would become the new 'species' name, and the fox's species (_zerda_) would become the new 'sub species', creating _Homo vulpes zerda_. Homo is Latin for 'man,' and seeing as how most furries are conjured up as being humans in structure save for animal heads, paws, tails, and sometimes genitals, it makes sense that they should be classified in a genus suggesting more human than animal; _Homo_, not _Vulpes_.


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## RayO_ElGatubelo (Nov 17, 2010)

Shadowwolf, the problem with what you said is that placing it in the Genus implies that anthro foxes are not _Vulpes _and anthro wolves are not _Canis_!


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## Shadowwolf (Nov 17, 2010)

What?


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## Jesie (Nov 17, 2010)

I prefer the 'hominid'. As essentially you are adding ape or human like characteristics to what would normally not have such qualities.

Homo denotes just purely human characteristics, but most furries are far from pure human. the hominid term works better for particular furries who are more animal than human.


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## Shadowwolf (Nov 17, 2010)

I could potentially agree with that.


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## Kreevox (Nov 17, 2010)

Homo vulpes scotus dirissimus
(Humanoid) (fox) (scottish) (dire)

intended translation: (anthro) Scottish Dire Fox

somebody correct the word order I'm wrong


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## Shadowwolf (Nov 17, 2010)

Unless the Scottish Dire is the name for your species of fox, I don't think it would make sense to include Scottish heritage in a scientific name. If Scottish Dire is a species name, then you could probably just join the two together (scotusdirus or diruscotus) as sometimes scientists will do when they can't settle on what to name a subspecies. That way it would come out as _Homo vulpes diruscotus_.


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## Kreevox (Nov 17, 2010)

Scottish is indeed part of the species name, so it would be Homo vulpes diruscotus?  That's pretty baddass, I believe Ill put that on my profile


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## RayO_ElGatubelo (Nov 17, 2010)

Shadowwolf said:


> Unless the Scottish Dire is the name for your species of fox, I don't think it would make sense to include Scottish heritage in a scientific name. If Scottish Dire is a species name, then you could probably just join the two together (scotusdirus or diruscotus) as sometimes scientists will do when they can't settle on what to name a subspecies. That way it would come out as _Homo vulpes diruscotus_.


 
That makes it sound like something out of the Genus _Homo_. Anthro foxes evolved from non-anthro foxes, not humans.


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## Shadowwolf (Nov 17, 2010)

RayO_ElGatubelo said:


> That makes it sound like something out of the Genus _Homo_. Anthro foxes evolved from non-anthro foxes, not humans.


 
Yes, I believe if you read my post above you will come to realize why we have concluded the genus Homo as being more appropriate.

Also this is the world of make believe, so anthros haven't evolved at all.


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## LaughingDove (Nov 26, 2010)

I have my one persona, _Streptopelia senegalis_...and then the garbage name I gave my dragons (_Parvasuchos versicolour_). Cookies for whoever guesses how I came up with that. :V


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## Gavrill (Nov 26, 2010)

LaughingDove said:


> Cookies for whoever guesses how I came up with that. :V


 A mix of rum and coke?


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## LaughingDove (Nov 26, 2010)

Lol, nah. It's a pretty easy one if you use wiki.

Edit: I'm sorry, I'm a moron who's never been drunk and I only just got that joke. Have a brandy cake, it's festive and relevant!


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## CerbrusNL (Nov 26, 2010)

I mostly add in the latin name to make sure people know the "red" is not the colour of the wolf, but a sub-species in the family.
(Red Wolf - Canis Rufus)


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