OPENING
Welcome to Episode 34 of The STEM Sessions Podcast, published on October 6, 2025. This is the podcast that says it’s OK to do your own research on STEM topics even if you don’t have any fancy credentials. I am your host, Cody Colborn.
INTRODUCTION
When leading my Socal Science Hikes, I try to use scientific names for plants and animals in addition to their common names
- I can tell it goes over many people’s head
- And due to my horrendous pronunciation of said names, I’m sure those attendees who did hear me won’t remember what I said
However, I still think it’s important to use them
- Not every time, of course, and I don’t use the scientific name in place of the common name
- But I definitely still mention them
A few months ago, after the group dispersed, one of the attendees asked me why I name drop the scientific names
- I told her it was as much for my education as the group’s because I want to become more familiar with them and repetition and saying them aloud helps me remember them
- I also mentioned it can be valuable when identities are in question because two animals can have similar common names but the scientific names are unique
On the drive home, I thought more about my answer and realized it wasn’t as thorough as it could be
- I also realized it would be a good thing to mention at the start of future hikes, in hopes of piquing curiosity at the start
- So I jotted down notes on a couple of index cards for reference and added them to my field notebook
This episode is essentially an extended version of that quick speech I give on the topic at the start of my hikes
This is The STEM Sessions Podcast Episode 34 – What’s in a Name?
MAIN BODY
King Philip Came Over From Germany Swiftly
- This sentence is the mnemonic device I learned in junior high to help recall the hierarchical taxonomic system by which all organisms are classified
- It’s absurd, but proof that mnemonic devices work as I remember it and the taxa it represents several decades later
King Philip Came Over From Germany Swiftly
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species
Taxonomy is a fascinating deep dive and one that’s worthy of its own episode
- For this episode, however, we only need to concern ourselves with the last two steps in the ladder: Genus and Species
Genus and species of the organism make up its binomial nomenclature; its scientific name
- Universal standard, same whether communication in English or Japanese or any other language
- Unique to each organism, no scientific name is repeated
In addition to uniquely identifying an organism, scientific names indicate the organism’s place in the biological classification system, showing its relationship to other species.
- Typically, species within a genus are more closely related than species within the same family but different genus
So if scientific names are so valuable, why aren’t they used more?
- Because they’re a pain in the ass to work with
Scientific names are intimidating
- They are primarily based on Latin, and sometimes Greek, so unless you’re familiar with another romance language like Spanish, they’re difficult to read and more difficult to speak
- I took four years of Spanish in high school, but scientific names typically tongue tie me
- Further, it’s not always a true Latin or Greek word
- Sometimes it’s a modern word or name modified to look Latin or Greek
- For example, if a species were to be named after me, the species name would be colbornii or something like that
And there all a bunch of rules for writing scientific names
- They’re always italicized
- First word (the genus) is always capitalized, but the second word (the species) is always lower case
- Sometimes the first word is abbreviated to its first letter
- So because scientific names are difficult to read and pronounce, we common and regional names which are everyday words in our everyday language
- In some cases, an organism will have a widely accepted common name, and it may also be recognized by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature as the official common name
- For example, Ursus americanus is known as the American black bear regardless of where you are in North America
In other cases, there may have a bunch of regional names instead of a more universal common name
- And that’s where things get sticky
- For example, Puma concolor, an animal that ranges throughout North and South American is known as the mountain lion, the cougar, the puma, catamount, or panther depending on where you live
- Ranges through North and South America and is known as the mountain lion, the cougar, the puma, catamount, panther depending on where you live
Most people understand those five or six names refer to the same animal, so resulting confusion is minimized
- But confusion over regional names can be dangerous when it comes to toxic plants
Datura stramonium produces hallucinations when interested
- Common name is Jimsonweed
- But it has several regional names such as Devil’s weed, thornapple, stinkweed
Stinkweed is also a regional name for hemlock (Conium maculatum), Indian hemp (Cannabis indica), field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) just to name a few
- Some are toxic in their own right, others are benign
- You should never inject (or touch for that matter) any plant you cannot positively identify, and a regional name is not a positive identification unless you know to which species that name refers
Two common birds we see here in Southern California are the Great Egret and the Snowy Egret – both accepted common names and neither seem to have any often used regional names
Great Egret is a large white wading bird
- Standing over three feet tall with a wing span of five feet
- It has a long neck, a yellow/orange dagger like bill, and black legs and feet
Snowy Egret is also a white wading bird
- Standing at two feet tall with a wingspan of three feet
- It has a long neck, black dagger like bill, and yellow legs and feet
- Based on these descriptions and their names, one would think the Snowy Egret species is just a smaller version of the Great Egret species
- And you would be totally justified in that assumption
- But that assumption is incorrect
- They’re not in the same genus – same Family, yes, – but not the same genus
- Great Egret is Adrea alba
- Snowy Egret is Egretta thula
There are egrets and herons in both genera, meaning an egret could be more closely related to a heron than to other egrets and vice versa
This happens because we’ve been classifying organisms for over three centuries, and it isn’t uncommon for organisms to be moved around as we improve our methods and data
- Great egret was originally in the genius Egretta, but was moved into genus Adrea with the other larger herons and egrets, but retained is common name
And here’s further proof that even the scientific names can make little sense
- Snowy egret species name thula is the Mapudungun term for the black-necked swan, and was incorrectly applied in the late 1700s
I’ll end with a personal anecdote – one I’ve discussed before, but it’s worth repeating
- This one shows how regional names, while uniquely identifying a species in that region, can be taxonomically wrong
I grew up in Montana where fields were littered with the small rodents
- Common name Richardson’s Ground Squirrels, scientific name Urocitellus richardsonii
- They look like a small version of the more widely known Prairie Dog, which are several species in the genus Cynomys
- While the common name was known, I never heard them referred to as ground squirrels, let alone Richardson’s ground squirrels
- We simply called them gophers
- And I assumed that gopher simply referred to a group of related animals within the Order of Rodents, and we just used the word because it was easier to say
Recently, I identified the critter leaving piles of dirt in my yard as the Botta’s Pocket Gopher
- After researching the animal, my assumption that gopher refers to a group of related animals in the Rodent Order was shown to be correct
- However, the gopher I grew up with is NOT included in that group
Botta’s Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae) and the other gophers belong to the family Geomyidae
- Richardson Ground squirrel belongs to the family Sciuridae along with the Prairie dogs and other ground squirrels
- The gopher of my childhood is two taxonomic levels aways from true gophers
Now, does this means I’m going to correct everyone during my next visit to Montana?
- Nope, because you have to know you audience, and I don’t think my family and friends up there would care
- And I’ll be honest, I doubt I’ll stop calling them gophers myself when in that company
I can recognize that knowing the scientific names carries a lot of value
- They unique identify the organism so there is zero confusion
- They describe how closely related organisms are to each other
- And in situations in which people are looking to learn, such as science podcasts and science hikes, using scientific names as an addendum to the common names is a great way of linking that knowledge
- But I can also recognize that a lot of people in everyday normal settings, even though they might be interested in learning about nature, just don’t care enough to learn the scientific names
- If you only use scientific names in your everyday communication, you risk sounding like a pretentious a-hole, and no one wants that
OUTRO AND CREDITS
Thank you for listening to this episode of The STEM Sessions Podcast – a podcast researched, written, and produced by Cody Colborn.
This episode’s music is titled “Black Vulture” and was composed by Silent Partner.
The shownotes and transcript can be found at thestemsessions.com, which is also the best place to provide feedback, corrections, and value for value support.
Remember, doing your own critical research will always be to your benefit, and any pundit or scientist that tells you “just trust me, bro” or scolds you for fact checking and questioning isn’t offering true education.
So until the next one, keeping learning.