What’s in a name? Selection of common names among new and revised species of Australian mammals, and the case of the sugar glider†
Ross L. Goldingay A * , Stephen M. Jackson B C , John W. Winter D , Dan K. P. Harley E , Rohan J. Bilney F , Darren G. Quin A , Geoffrey C. Smith G , Brendan D. Taylor A and Rodney P. Kavanagh AA Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia.
B Australian Museum Research Institute, 1 William Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.
C School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
D PO Box 1485, Atherton, Qld 4883, Australia.
E Zoos Victoria, Wildlife Conservation and Science Department, Healesville Sanctuary, Healesville, Vic. 3777, Australia.
F Forestry Corporation of NSW, P.O. Box 702, Eden, NSW 2551, Australia.
G Queensland Herbarium and Biodiversity Sciences, Department of Environment & Science, Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Toowong, Qld 4066, Australia.
Abstract
The common names of species serve an important role in scientific and everyday communication, so well-constructed names should be easy to remember and convey important information about a species. The discovery of new species, or the revision and splitting of existing species, may lead to new or changed common names. We review new common names given to Australian mammal species described, or recognised, since the year 2000. We reference the principles adopted by the Australian Mammal Society in 1980, formulated to guide the selection of common names. Of 31 new species, 25 had common names that referenced their morphology, geographic location or ecosystem, one had an indigenous name and five involved eponyms (named after a person). Three of the eponyms reflected the animal’s specific name, one was given after consultation with indigenous cultural experts, and one was named after the collector of the specimen. We argue that the recommended common name for this latter species (Petaurus notatus) was inconsistent with the long-standing principles of the Australian Mammal Society for selecting common names, so we offer an alternative name, the inland sugar glider. Common names may be subservient to scientific names but they play an important role, and therefore, should be selected very carefully and be consistent with established principles.
Keywords: Coastal sugar glider, inland sugar glider, Krefft’s glider, Petaurus breviceps, Petaurus notatus, Petaurus ariel.
References
AMTC (2022). The AMTC Australian Mammal Species List. Version 2.0. Available at https://australianmammals.org.au/publications/amtc-species-list [downloaded 17 February 2023].
Baker, A. M., Mutton, T. Y., Hines, H. B., and Van Dyck, S. (2014). The Black-tailed Antechinus, Antechinus arktos sp. nov.: a new species of carnivorous marsupial from montane regions of the Tweed Volcano caldera, eastern Australia. Zootaxa 3765, 101-133.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Bickford, D., Lohman, D. J., Sodhi, N. S., Ng, P. K. L., Meier, R., Winker, K., Ingram, K. K., and Das, I. (2007). Cryptic species as a window on diversity and conservation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 22, 148-155.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Burbidge, A. A., and Fuller, P. J. (1990). On the vernacular name of Petrogale burbidgei. Records of the Western Australian Museum 14, 645-646.
| Google Scholar |
Campbell, C. D., Sarre, S. D., Stojanovic, D., Gruber, B., Medlock, K., Harris, S., MacDonald, A. J., and Holleley, C. E. (2018). When is a native species invasive? Incursion of a novel predatory marsupial detected using molecular and historical data. Diversity and Distributions 24, 831-840.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Carroll, E. L., McGowen, M. R., McCarthy, M. L., et al. (2021). Speciation in the deep: genomics and morphology reveal a new species of beaked whale Mesoplodon eueu. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 288, 20211213.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Committee on Taxonomy (2022). ‘List of marine mammal species and subspecies.’ (Society for Marine Mammalogy) Available at www.marinemammalscience.org [accessed 17 February 2023].
Cremona, T., Baker, A. M., Cooper, S. J. B., Montague-Drake, R., Stobo-Wilson, A. M., and Carthew, S. M. (2021). Integrative taxonomic investigation of Petaurus breviceps (Marsupialia: Petauridae) reveals three distinct species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 191, 503-527.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Crowther, M. S., Sumner, J., and Dickman, C. R. (2003). Speciation of Antechinus stuartii and A. subtropicus (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) in eastern Australia: molecular and morphological evidence. Australian Journal of Zoology 51, 443-462.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Dickman, C. R., Parnaby, H. E., Crowther, M. S., and King, D. H. (1998). Antechinus agilis (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae), a new species from the A. stuartii complex in south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology 46, 1-26.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Fisher, D. O., Nuske, S., Green, S., Seddon, J. M., and McDonald, B. (2011). The evolution of sociality in small, carnivorous marsupials: the lek hypothesis revisited. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 65, 593-605.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Fleay, D. (1932). The lesser flying phalanger (“sugar squirrel”). Victorian Naturalist 49, 97-101.
| Google Scholar |
Fleay, D. (1937). Furry gliders among the giant gums. Walkabout Geographic Magazine 3, 13-19.
| Google Scholar |
Goldingay, R. L. (2021). General or local habitat preferences? Unravelling geographically consistent patterns of habitat preference in gliding mammals. Forest Ecology and Management 491, 119204.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Gunn, R. C. (1851). On the introduction and natualisation of Petaurus sciurus in Tasmania. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen’s Land 1, 253-255.
| Google Scholar |
Iredale, T., and Troughton, E. L. G. (1934). A check-list of the mammals recorded from Australia. Australian Museum Memoir 6, 1-122.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Jackson, S. M., Baker, A. M., Eldridge, M. D. B., et al. (2023). The importance of appropriate taxonomy in Australian mammalogy. Australian Mammalogy 45, 13-23.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Jolly, C. J., Moore, H. A., Cowan, M. A., et al. (2023). Taxonomic revision reveals potential impacts of Black Summer megafires on a cryptic species. Pacific Conservation Biology 29, 17-25.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Lindenmayer, D. B., Dubach, J., and Viggers, K. L. (2002). Geographic dimorphism in the mountain brushtail possum (Trichosurus caninus): the case for a new species. Australian Journal of Zoology 50, 369-393.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Luksenburg, J. A., Henriquez, A., and Sangster, G. (2015). Molecular and morphological evidence for the subspecific identity of Bryde’s whales in the southern Caribbean. Marine Mammal Science 31, 1568-1579.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Peters, W. (1859[In German]). Über ein neues Flugbeutelthier, Petaurus (Belideus), aus dem südlichen Theile von Neuholland. Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin for 1859 1860, 14-15.
| Google Scholar |
Smith, A. P. (1982). Diet and feeding strategies of the marsupial sugar glider in temperate Australia. Journal of Animal Ecology 51, 149-166.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Strahan, R. (1980). Recommended common names of Australian mammals. Bulletin of the Australian Mammal Society 6(2), 13-23.
| Google Scholar |
Suckling, G. C. (1984). Population ecology of the sugar glider, Petaurus breviceps, in a system of fragmented habitats. Australian Wildlife Research 11, 49-75.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Troughton, E. (1934). Marsupial gliders or “flying possums”. Australian Museum Magazine 5(8), 257-264.
| Google Scholar |
Wada, S., Oishi, M., and Yamada, T. K. (2003). A newly discovered species of living baleen whale. Nature 426, 278-281.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Zoos Victoria (2023). New Holland Mouse. Available at https://www.zoo.org.au/fighting-extinction/local-threatened-species/new-holland-mouse/ [accessed 31 March 2023].