I used to often go through lists, google searches, and so on looking for funny/weird animal names. I have made quite a few lists already, and I thought I would make a post here to see if some of you know some good ones. plants and fungi also welcome :) Here are some of my favorites that I can fin…

Some years ago, there was sone discussion on the Aroid listserv as to the origin of the specific epithet seguine in Dieffenbachia seguine. Now, according to Penelope Honychurch, “siguine” is the colloquial name for not just Dieffenbachia, but also two species of wild Anthurium, variously in Guadelou…

Monkey-faced Prickleback!!! Love that fish.

Two Spanish ones: Hormigas león. Ant lions aren’t ants, they are predators of ants, but the syntax sounds like they’re a lion kind of ants. I checked Wiktionary, which has it pluralized on “hormiga”. Playero pihuihuí (some bird in Charadriiformes). I think “pihuihuí” sounds funny.

[image] jasonhernandez74: Now, according to Penelope Honychurch, “siguine” is the colloquial name for not just Dieffenbachia, but also two species of wild Anthurium, variously in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Dominica. But what does it mean? It isn’t a standard French word. Mmm, that’s becaue i…

Funny, long, or just plain weird animal names

Nature Talk

phma December 18, 2024, 9:08am 634

Grape drupe. Grapes are berries, peaches are drupes, but a grape drupe is a snail.

Topic		Replies	Views
Interesting, funny, weird, e.t.c. plant names Nature Talk mostly-humor , fun , common-names , silliness	53	13932	July 9, 2026
Great, funny, or weird species names in other languages Nature Talk	38	15827	October 18, 2020
Organisms named after other organisms Nature Talk silliness	49	3481	January 2, 2021
New Names for old friends. How much to cut and how much to paste Nature Talk	20	958	July 9, 2022
Taxa with fairytale-esque names Nature Talk	70	2995	July 5, 2022

Funny, long, or just plain weird animal names

Related topics