Species Stories

We couldn't fit all of the amazing species name stories into the museum exhibit. Here you will find a few more interesting species stories:

	Dodo The Dodo’s scientific name has changed several times as ideas of its evolutionary relationships shifted.
	E.coli Most strains of E. coli are harmless and even beneficial.
	Pangolin All pangolins today belong to the family, Manidae, which come from the Latin word for ghost or underworld.
	Rock Tripe “Rock tripe”, genus Umbilicaria, is an edible lichen.
	Shipworm If it looks like a worm, and its name sounds like a worm, is it a worm?
	Sugar Maple The Latin name Acer saccharum means “sharp sugar.” The “sharp” genus name refers to the shapes of the leaves.
	Vargapupa biheli The newly discovered snail, Vargapupa biheli honored the Biodiversity Heritage Library in its name (bi he li).
	Yeti Crab Named for the furry legend of the Himalayas, the Yeti crab, genus Kiwa, is a crustacean that dwells in deep sea vents.

Image Credits
Dodo, Raphus cucullatus. Extinct birds London:Hutchinson,1907. CC BY-NC-SA; E.Coli, Escherichia coli. United States Department of Agriculture. Public Domain; Pangolin, Manis temminckii Smuts, 1832 by Masteraah. Public Domain; Rock tripe, Umbilicaria mammulata by J. Carmichael. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.; Shipworm, Teredo navalis by Deplewsk. CC BY-SA 3.0; Sugar Maple, Acer saccharum by Susan Elliott, iNaturalist.org. CC BY-NC; Vargapupa biheli. Image courtesy Dr. Barna Páll-Gergely; Yeti Crab, Kiwa tyleri by Thatje et al. PLoS ONE CC BY