"When, a few years later, in the definitive tenth edition of his Systema Naturae (1758-59) he extended his scheme to animals, Linnaeus showed a similar practical sense. For insects he used specific names designating color or the host plant. To distinguish species of butterfiies, he drew on his copious classical learning, and added such epithets as Helena, Menelaus, Ulysses, Agamemnon, Patroclus, Ajax, or Nestor. Then again, in deference to vernacular usage he set up the genus Felis, included the

lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, ocelot, cat, and lynx, and designated them by their common Latin names, Leo, Tigris, Pardus, Onca, Pardalis, Catus, and Lynx. "When was there another such colossal feat of name-giving since the Creation? ". . . Linnaeus inspired an unprecedented worldwide program of specimen hunting. His work gave generations of specimen hunters a new incentive to advance science, even at the risk of their lives. No longer would their hard-won finds be relegated to attics or buried in the meaningless jumble of 'cabinets of curiosities.' Now every plant or animal newly 'identified' by Linnaeus' system contributed to a systematic worldwide survey."         Daniel J. Boorstin,         The Discoverers

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Detail from a collage by Sheryl Todd: Job Ticket, March 3, 1983.
While much of the material on these pages is borrowed, other material is original.
In any case, copyright of the page design belongs to Sheryl Todd.

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