#1) “Scientists… can name their novel organisms whatever they want.” And this is appropriate to my comments how, exactly? I never said that the naming was technically incorrect, merely “not great,” as in aesthetically displeasing, in contrast to Sheril’s aesthetic approval of the name.

#2) “Most scientifists use ancient (rather than modern) Greek and Latin… Any stricture on particular languages is out the window…” And how is this relevant to anything I posted? None of my criticisms addressed the use of an ancient language at all. My criticism has nothing to do with the use of ancient language, but has to do with a reference to an ancient supersition.

#3) “For the sake of humopr, some people get to make funny names without any sense of ‘decorum,’” Again, how is this relevant? If referencing Herman Melville when describing a whale constituted humor (or even humopr), then perhaps a lack of “decorum” could be excused (although the objection is not based on lack of decorum, anyway). But referencing Melville isn’t humorous; it’s not even witty. It’s obvious and trite.

#4) “And you even get religious references — from other cultures and religions than the Book of Job.” Which does not excuse the handicap of pandering to superstitions here, it merely shows that it is a wide-spread problem.

“And note that Ahab refers to the white whale as a Leviathan, making the reference self-supporting in itself.” Which is one of the reasons why it is not a “great name,” but a lame, obvious, trite and dull one.

#5) And what, exactly, is the relevance of names such as Thalassocnus and Odobenocetops to the discussion of whether the name chosen for this animal is great or is lame?

But I cannot leave post #3 alone too long, as it pretenses so much it’s ridiculous:

1.Scientists, especially those from the countries in which the fossils are located or whom are invited or pay to work in said country, can name their novel organisms whatever they want. The only rules for naming animals certain things restrict people from using the nomenclature for insults or otherwise provocative purposes. Anything else goes.

2. Most scientifists use ancient (rather than modern) Greek and Latin (Latin is a dead language, in case you haven’t heard, spoken only clerically, while ancient Greek is not spoken by ANYONE). Any stricture on particular languages is out the window since taxa have been named in Navajo, Mongolian, Tamil, and even Khoisan (that language with the chirps and the clicks in it). These taxa are usually found in the regions where the languages are commonly spoken.

3. For the sake of humopr, some people get to make funny names without any sense of “decorum,” but with real respect meant: an extinct snake from Australia named Montypythonoides, a clam named Godzilla, a dinosaur named Gojirasaurus, a shark called Gollum, another dinosaur honors various musicians, such as the Grateful Dead or Dire Straits.

4. And you even get religious references — from other cultures and religions than the Book of Job. And note that Ahab refers to the white whale as a Leviathan, making the reference self-supporting in itself.

5. A variety of other whales, dolphins, and even sloths, are known from the general regions of the western Peruvian deposits where this animal hails, and names like Thalassocnus and Odobenocetops come from there; these names are in wide use, and workers (in Peru, no less) use and coin them on their own.

Yet, to each their own.

At between 13.5 and 18.5 metres in length, it was no bigger than the modern sperm whale, but it was clearly far more formidable.

Smaller than a blue whale.

Sorry, no, not a great name, at all.

First, it’s distractingly predictable.

Second, the genus name suffers from the handicap of pandering to outdated religious nonsense.

Third, the species name suffers from the handicap of pandering to the memory of a writer whose greatest work is an ode to killing the (distant) kin of this animal.

Fourth and most importantly, this is a Peruvian fossil, a country with a rich history and vibrant present. Surely they could have come up with a name that didn’t refer to a mideastern myth and an USAian author… Are there no words in the local Amerind languages for “big whale”? That, as boring as that is, would be better than this mess.

Fantastic animal, though.