Usuari Discussió:JøMa

Water hog, "hydrochaeris"

Hello. I'm fully aware of what the Latin words for "water" and "hog" are - I actually got the best marks in Latin in all of Catalonia in the 2005 university access exams. However, all scientific names must always be in Latin form. Therefore, authors wishing to use words from other languages, such as Ancient Greek, must first "latinise" those words. That's why we have Brontotherium and not Brontotherion, Parahippus and not Parahippos. That's why hydrochaeris is a Latin word - of wholly Greek origins, yes, but a Latin word after all.

An analogy can be made with the word "aristocracy", which comes from the Greek words arístos and kratós, but is an English word, not a Greek one. At any rate, I changed the capibara article to better reflect the Latin nature, but Greek origins, of hydrochaeris. Cheers. – Leptictidium; what else? 11:32, 3 gen 2012 (CET)