Taxonomic homonyms and why entomologists shouldn't name dinosaurs

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Megapnosaurus_DB.jpg

I came across a mention of Megapnosaurus today, a little theropod that lived about 200 million years ago. It came up in one of my lectures on taxonomy last term as an example of a homonym.

Homonymous genera are genera within the same kingdom (e.g. animals) that share the same name. Homonyms aren't allowed because they could potentially cause a lot of confusion. It's fairly simple to figure out whether someone is using the name Ammophila (one who likes sand) to describe a sand wasp or marram grass, so cross-kingdom names are fine, but there the line is drawn. In any case, each kingdom has its own naming system so cooperation would be complicated.

Megapnosaurus was first described as Syntarsus Raath, 1969. I haven't found a translation, but I'd guess Syntarsus means something along the lines of 'extra digit'. This might refer to the hand: in the picture you can see a stubby little fourth digit, whereas many theropods have only three.

Unfortunately, Syntarsus turned out to already be in use, as a beetle genus. A pair of entomologists noticed and thoughtfully renamed the dinosaur to Megapnosaurus Ivie & Slipinksi, 2001. Megapnosaurus means 'big dead lizard'. Thankfully, a palaeontologist then re-examined the dinosaur and it was found to be similar enough to Coelophysis ('hollow form', wonderfully neutral) to share that name instead.

Leisure

For the first time in years, I have a proper Easter holiday. It was a bit of a squeeze, having the spring exams before the break, but I'm glad we did it. It means that we could start our projects earlier if necessary or, like me, have some actual time off. I have a list of papers and a textbook to read, but I've been able to come home and find time for all of those niggling things that get put off when you're busy. Gardening, housework, admin faff with long deadlines, wrapping a new bit of electrical tape around the broken cable on my headphones, ukulele.

Today I also made a new batch of beeswax lip salve. I get cracked lips easily and had been using Vaseline for years before I looked into equivalent things that weren't by-products of the oil industry (angry milennial box checked for this post). I ended up buying some beeswax off eBay and melting it in the microwave with olive oil; this is a very useful post comparing different ratios of the two:
http://www.humblebeeandme.com/a-quick-guide-to-beeswax-liquid-oil-ratios/

After some trial and error, I settled on about 1:4. It's solid at desk temperature but soft straight from the pocket (I keep it in an old, tastefully battered Vaseline tin). It has a gentle honeyish smell. Good stuff. Be beware: because the wax is totally insoluble in water, it's a pain to wash up.