﻿5 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION 
  

  

  LATIN 
  ■A.ITD 
  GREEK 
  IN 
  CONCHOLOGY 
  

  

  Anyone 
  interested 
  in 
  Conchology, 
  even 
  if 
  he 
  has 
  only 
  a 
  superficial 
  

   knowledge 
  of 
  Latin 
  and 
  Greek, 
  is 
  surprised 
  and 
  shocked 
  at 
  finding 
  many 
  

   specific 
  adjectives 
  in 
  complete 
  disagreement 
  with 
  the 
  nouns 
  they 
  modi- 
  

   fy. 
  For 
  instance, 
  it 
  is 
  very 
  common 
  to 
  read 
  Littorina 
  saxatile, 
  Vasum 
  

   muricatus, 
  Cantharus 
  cancellaria, 
  which 
  are 
  Latin 
  monstrosities. 
  It 
  

   would, 
  of 
  course, 
  be 
  unreasonable 
  to 
  expect 
  that 
  Conchologists 
  and 
  Mal- 
  

   acologists 
  should 
  write 
  Ciceronian 
  Latin 
  or 
  Attic 
  Greek, 
  "but, 
  since 
  

   all 
  names 
  used 
  in 
  Conchology 
  are 
  Latin, 
  Greek 
  or 
  Latiniforra, 
  Concholo- 
  

   gists 
  should 
  be 
  acajaainted 
  with 
  certain 
  elementary 
  rules 
  of 
  Greek 
  and 
  

   especially 
  Latin 
  grammars 
  if 
  they 
  are 
  to 
  give 
  generic 
  and 
  specific 
  na- 
  

   mes 
  their 
  proper 
  gender, 
  forms 
  and 
  inflections. 
  These 
  rules 
  are 
  simple 
  

   enough 
  and 
  can 
  easily 
  be 
  applied. 
  The 
  purpose 
  of 
  this 
  introduction 
  is 
  

   to 
  make 
  them 
  known 
  and 
  thus 
  help 
  Conchologists 
  in 
  removing 
  doubts 
  

   v/hich 
  may 
  at 
  times 
  arise 
  in 
  their 
  minds 
  as 
  to 
  just 
  what 
  to 
  do 
  about 
  

   the 
  gender 
  and 
  agreement 
  of 
  shell 
  names. 
  

  

  I. 
  Ge 
  neric 
  Names 
  

  

  Generic 
  names, 
  at 
  least 
  those 
  of 
  marine 
  mollusca 
  of 
  the 
  East 
  

   Coast 
  of 
  North 
  America 
  with 
  which 
  only 
  I 
  am 
  concerned 
  in 
  this 
  book, 
  can 
  

   be 
  classified 
  under 
  the 
  following 
  heads: 
  

  

  A) 
  Lat 
  in 
  v/ords 
  ; 
  

  

  ay~Simple 
  nouns, 
  like 
  Pecten, 
  Conus, 
  Oliva, 
  Ficus, 
  Colus, 
  Bur- 
  

   sa, 
  Ensis, 
  Amygdalum, 
  Hitra, 
  Turris, 
  Ervilia, 
  Teredo, 
  Drupa, 
  

   Si 
  strum; 
  sometimes 
  with 
  a 
  slight 
  error 
  in 
  spelling, 
  like 
  in 
  

   the 
  subgenus 
  Amusium 
  (for 
  Amussium) 
  ; 
  

  

  b) 
  Arbitrarily 
  made 
  up 
  compounds 
  whose 
  last 
  component 
  is 
  a 
  Lat- 
  

   in 
  noun. 
  Such 
  are: 
  Cetoconcha, 
  Conomitra, 
  Serripes, 
  Serpu- 
  

   lorbis, 
  Plansxis, 
  Pseudoglomus, 
  Volutifusus; 
  

  

  c) 
  Adjectives: 
  Illex, 
  Glaucus; 
  

  

  d) 
  Words 
  unknown 
  to, 
  but 
  derived 
  from 
  Latin; 
  for 
  instance: 
  Nas- 
  

   sarius, 
  Littorina, 
  Pyramidella, 
  Lamellaria, 
  Aquilonaria, 
  Di- 
  

   varicella, 
  Umbonium, 
  Siphonium, 
  

  

  B) 
  Greek 
  v/ords 
  : 
  

  

  a) 
  Simple 
  nouns: 
  Cyphoma, 
  Stilbe, 
  Choristes; 
  sometimes 
  v/ith 
  a 
  

   Latin 
  ending 
  corresponding 
  to 
  the 
  Greek 
  original, 
  like 
  Cy- 
  

   lichna, 
  Tellina, 
  Cymatium; 
  

  

  b) 
  Arbitrarily 
  made 
  up 
  compounds 
  whose 
  last 
  component 
  is 
  a 
  

   Greek 
  noun: 
  Limopsis, 
  Gastropteron, 
  Anomalocardia, 
  Busycon, 
  

   Calloplax, 
  Meioceras, 
  Sepioteuthis, 
  Calliostoma; 
  sometimes 
  

   with 
  a 
  Latin 
  ending 
  corresponding 
  to 
  the 
  Greek 
  original, 
  li- 
  

   ke 
  Litiopa, 
  Pododesmus, 
  Dendronotus, 
  Microdochus, 
  or 
  with 
  

   an 
  insignificant 
  change 
  in 
  spelling, 
  such 
  as 
  Hipponix 
  (for 
  

   Hipponyx) 
  , 
  Hyalocylis 
  (for 
  Hyalocylix) 
  ; 
  sometimes 
  with 
  an 
  

   entirely 
  different 
  ending: 
  Cheilea, 
  Lepidopleurus, 
  Trachy- 
  

   cardium, 
  Peristichia, 
  Odostomia; 
  

  

  c) 
  Adjectives: 
  Taonius, 
  Zeidora, 
  Janthina, 
  Amaura; 
  

  

  d) 
  Simple 
  and 
  compound 
  words 
  unknown 
  to, 
  but 
  formed 
  from 
  Greek, 
  

   which, 
  when 
  compounds, 
  do 
  not 
  end 
  in 
  a 
  noun: 
  Macrocallista, 
  

   Xenophora, 
  Triphora, 
  Coralliophila. 
  

  

  