Sharks: An Eponym Dictionary

摘要

Sharks: An Eponym Dictionary published by UK-based Pelagic Publishing provides insights and origins on the naming of sharks, rays, skates and Chimeras, covering 1,577 species names in all. The dictionary details whom the species are named after and also the "authors of the original descriptions of them" (Introduction). Included in many of the descriptions is a mini-biography that reveals more details about the entry. The Watkins and Beolens state in the Introduction that their aim is to ensure the reader understand how to read the entries of the species and how the species are named. For example, common names of the species often include a person's name; this is called an eponym. Moreover, the species name can include the scientific name, the Latinised name related to the discoverer, or name of an honoured worthy person (Introduction). The authors note that there is no authority on referencing the origins of the naming of fish. In this publication, to find information about the naming origin of a fish, Sharks uses the scientific name of the species.