Posted by:
GaryF
at Mon Mar 7 03:19:47 2005 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by GaryF ]
I think that the reason it hasn't caught on is that, when abbreviated, it comes out as "papuan" which causes confusion with another species.
"West Papuan" is not even technically correct anyway since they are found across the border into Papua New Guinea and north of the area which the country's inhabitants refer to as "Papua". If you wanted a technically correct name it would be "New Guinea Carpet".
As for "Irian Jaya" needing to be replaced, there are loads of examples of animals in similar situations. Burmese Pythons are still called that, even though Burma is supposed to be called Myanmar. The names Ceylonese and Timor python are both technically wrong but people know exaxctly what the names refer to and, to me, that is purpose of a name. The name of a country is a political matter and, in my humble opnion, less important than clarity. At what point will the Taiwanese Beauty Snake have to be renamed the Chinese Beauty Snake?
Where do you stop? Some scrubs don't come from "scrub" land. Captive Ball Pythons don't usually make a "ball". If you live in Germany, is it possible to own a "Coastal" carpet? Do we need to remame them all?
G
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RE: terminology: IJ or WP? - GaryF, Mon Mar 7 03:19:47 2005