Realizing the importance of including Latin Names for animals

[Jill Morgan 972]

My shots from the zoo finally made it into the search, so I thought I would do some searching to see what else is there. When I typed in "white lion" I got over 6,000 results, but a lot of them were not lions, but pubs by that name, and many other things. When i added Panthera leo krugeri to the search, it dropped down to 97 pictures.  That is telling me a lot of people are not including the latin name in their searches, as I know there are more than 97 photos of white lions.

 

I would think many searchers would use the latin name, simply as a filter to get rid of all the non-lion specific shots.

 

Same with cheetah - it drops from over 16,000 to 9,000. And I realized on my original shots from Africa, I haven't included any of the latin names for the animals, so will be re-keywording all of those.

 

Have you guys noticed specific searches for your photos that have been the latin name only, or the common name plus the latin name?

 

Jill

 

 

 

[Martin P Wilson 1,140]

There was no search in All of Alamy for "Panthera leo krugeri" but there were 7 for "Panthera leo" plus some other term one being "zoo" About 1500 views in total.

Edited December 14, 2013 by Martin P Wilson

[Bill Brooks 1,346]

I always use latin names along with the common names. Latin names are more specific and leave no doubt. How about confusion between the Elk in Europe and the Moose in North America?

 

From Wickipedia

 

"The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe) (Alces alces) is the largest extant species in the deer family"

[spacecadet 3,928]

Snag is, yesterday I got a hit for acipenser sturio, the European sturgeon.

It was on a plate in a restaurant in Bordeaux.

[Mike@Meonshore 54]

Snag is, yesterday I got a hit for acipenser sturio, the European sturgeon.

It was on a plate in a restaurant in Bordeaux.

 

Lets hope the search wasn't for Nat Geo then ;-)

 

I'm very strict on latin names for my animal shots. Hard to obviously compare those which I don't see searches for but given I put the common name and latin name I see far more hit for latin names than common, and that might be because that is what people are typing in for search terms above common or that there are less with latin names and I'm therefore further up the pile or in a smaller pool - either way it is goodness.

[spacecadet 3,928]

 

 

Lets hope the search wasn't for Nat Geo then ;-)

 

Oh I don't know, their photographers like to eat well and La Tupiña is a bargain at lunch.

Bordeaux's a good market for me.

Don't you all rush there, now.

[ftorafur 8]

The early settlers to America and indeed other parts of the New World encountered unfamiliar animals and plants, and gave them the names of the creatures back home.  This can cause a great deal of confusion.  The American robin is an example that immediately comes to mind (it is a kind of thrush), also the catch-all term of turtle for turtles (live in the sea), tortoises (on land) and terrapins (in fresh water).  I was caught out during a professional exam (my FRCR - I am an oncologist) when one of the multiple-choice questions asked whether etoposide (a form of chemotherapy) came from the mandrake plant.  In the USA the answer would be true.  In the UK (where I was taking the exam) it should have been false, but I have no idea whether the examiners knew that.  If you stick with Latin names it is precise and avoids confusion.  Though be aware that the Latin names change from time to time as an organism is reclassified.

[NYCat 2,565]

Oh dear. I guess I have to look at my zebra keywords. I do believe in including common misspellings.

 

Paulette

[Phil Robinson 1,175]

I have had a couple of searches for insects using the Latin names. I'd certainly agree that the scientific name is an essential for nature photographers - not only a Latin name, but the CORRECT Latin name. There are a worrying number of animal pictures on Alamy with bad/awful captions - having the correct Latin name not only helps in searches but also adds credibility to the caption.

[Nick Jenkins 55]

Not just animals, but this applies to plants too - any Natural History!

nj

[Nick Jenkins 55]

Which is another thread? Do you deliberately add in typos and spelling errors to cover off any researchers who might do likewise?
AARRGGHH!!

[Bill Brooks 1,346]

I add the most common name and the latest scientific name to essential keywords.

 

I add uncommon common names, out of date scientific names, plurals, and common spellings errors to main keywords.

 

There are two things to remember:

 

Clients may not be experts in the subject matter.

 

You have to keyword for a worldwide marketplace.

 

Wickipedia is a good place to harvest worldwide information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk

[Imagery by Charly 36]

Not sure it will matter, but I find white lion on your image misleading Jill. White lions are completely all white from birth to my knowledge? 

[CM photo 68]

Philippe

 

"PS: English is not my native language, but I do believe the correct spelling is "Brants' whistling rat" (like "Jesus' Last Supper"). But, who am I to argue with Auntie Beeb  ;)"

 

It depends on whether it's named after someone called Brant or Brants.  I suspect the former (although I am not a whistling rat expert) in which case it should be Brant's whistling rat.  But, as you rightly say, many researchers are not very good spellers.  And Alamy's keywording system does strange things with apostrophes, anyway.

 

And many scientific names were spelled wrongly at the time they were described and convention dictates that the spelling has to stand.  So the squirrel treefrog is Hyla squirella, for instance.  

 

Chris

 

 

 

 

[losdemas 2,900]

It appears to be (Anton) Brants.  This from the The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals (Google Books)

Edited December 16, 2013 by losdemas

[Jill Morgan 972]

Not sure it will matter, but I find white lion on your image misleading Jill. White lions are completely all white from birth to my knowledge? 

 

The male as you can see is very white, but the lioness' do seem to have a blonde tinge to them.

 

Here's what I found online:

 

"White lions are not albino lions. Instead, the white color is caused by a recessive gene known as chinchilla or color inhibitor. They vary from blonde through to near white, however some can also be red. This coloration gives white lions a distinct disadvantage in nature because they are highly visible. This gives them away to their prey and makes them an attractive target for hunters. According to Linda Tucker, in "Mystery of the White Lions - Children of the Sun God" they are bred in camps in South Africa as trophies for canned hunts"

[Imagery by Charly 36]

I had no idea, as I thought white lions were like white tigers... white. LOL Thanks for the info.

[CM photo 68]

 

It appears to be (Anton) Brants.  This from the The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals (Google Books)

 

Thanks for the information

Have a greenie from me and I'll take one myself 'cause my hunch was right after all. Hmmmmm..... can't do that!   Ah well, I'll take an extra biscuit with my cappuccino

 

Cheers,

Philippe

 

 

Well, have one from me instead, then.

 

Nice to learn something new - you never know when you might come across a whistling rat (I'm sure there's a joke there somewhere).  Good work Danny.

 

Chris 

[losdemas 2,900]

 

 

It appears to be (Anton) Brants.  This from the The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals (Google Books)

 

Thanks for the information

Have a greenie from me and I'll take one myself 'cause my hunch was right after all. Hmmmmm..... can't do that!   Ah well, I'll take an extra biscuit with my cappuccino

 

Cheers,

Philippe

 

 

Well, have one from me instead, then.

 

Nice to learn something new - you never know when you might come across a whistling rat (I'm sure there's a joke there somewhere).  Good work Danny.

 

Chris 

 

 

NP - greenies all round!