Hi all
"1. First mention of a species in any e-mail, full name
> >
> > 2. Any subsequent mention, abbreviate it how you like."
>
"> Agreed. Including the abbreviation with the full name would be
> ideal, and local names can be clarified in the same way."
Yes. And a good way to abbreviate a scientific name is showing the genus
name with its first letter followed by a full-stop, then the species name
in full.
Thus: Gymnorhina tibicen (Australian Magpie) is then referred to as G.
tibicen - in the same document following the first mention of the full
scientific name.
This is the universally accepted way of expressing fauna and flora names,
as there can be no confusion about the plant or animal being referred to.
Once its made clear which species the author refers to, popular short
forms/abbreviations (abbs) are OK (though not as good as using the
shortened scientific name) as the reader can refer back in the document to
see what the abbs mean......thus:
Melopsittacus undulatus (M. undulatus) OR (Budgerigar) OR
(Budgie) OR whatever........
As long as the full SCIENTIFIC (Latin) name is used at the beginning of the
posting, with the chosen abbreviation in brackets after it, then the chosen
abbreviation can be used thereafter in that particular posting. The same
needs to be done with each separate posting to avoid any confusion.
There's an added benefit - it helps the user to learn the scientific names,
which as I said yesterday, are the only truely reliable and universally
accepted name.
You probably all know this stuff anyway - may as well put it into practice
all the time making this mailing list even more valuable.
Regards
Jennifer Muir
----------
> From: Paul Taylor <>
> To: Birding-Aus <>
> Subject: Re: abbreviations
> Date: Monday, 25 January 1999 14:16
>
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