1467: Confusing Scientific Names Dec 17, 2018

Every studied animal, living or extinct, will get a scientific, so at this point there are quite a vast number, and it can be difficult to keep track of this. For instance,the scientific name for the most famous of the saber-toothed cats, 'smilodon' comes from σμίλη (smilē):a scalpel or two-edged knife, and 'οδόντος' (odontús) which means tooth. Originally however, it was slated to be Hyaenodon from 'hyena', but then a whole three years later, the discoverer, Peter Wilhelm Lund had found out that another animal already had this name and so changed it to the one used now.

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