![]() Taxonomy is the scientific study of naming, defining, and classifying groups of biological organisms. How do species come by their scientific names?Ĭarl Linnaeus is known as the father of modern taxonomy. We can still hear echoes of this in the modern Spanish name for these animals: “ perezoso”. The first European documented naming of our furry friends comes from the Portuguese “preguiça” which in turn comes from the Latin word “ pigritia”, meaning “slow”. In most languages the name for sloth (the animal) is equivalent to some form of sloth (the attribute): slowness, lateness, indolence, or laziness–leading to centuries of stereotyping sloths as creatures lacking in competence and motivation. The illustration of a sloth from the Comte de Buffon’s ‘Histoire Naturelle’ Through its etymology, this unconstructive word goes back to its earliest meanings in Old English- (slǣwþ), which translates as “ lazy” or “ inert”. It’ll come as no surprise to anyone that the word sloth has many negative connotations. Slow and lazy across all vernacular languages Sometimes common names are not always scientifically accurate, so let’s take a look at the history of “sloth”. Portrait by François-Hubert Drouais – Musée Buffon à Montbard ![]() Undoubtly, Comte Buffon was a quite fancy man. One more defect would have made their lives impossible.” These sloths are the lowest form of existence. “Slowness, habitual pain, and stupidity are the results of this strange and bungled conformation. In 1749 the French Naturalist Georges-Lois Leclerc de Buffon described them thus: Sloths are the only animal whose common name is derived from one of the seven deadly sins. When Europeans first encountered sloths, it is fair to say they were not impressed. So what is the etymology of the word sloth? And how does its scientific and common name share the same meaning? An unfair name Thus, the etymology of a word is its origin and developmental history. This reptile has the scientific name Trachemys scripta elegans.Etymology is the study of words, particularly, the history of words. The river cooter (Pseudemys concinna) is a freshwater turtle native to the central and eastern United States An albino red ear slider tortoise is basking on dry logs. Red-footed tortoise Chelonoidis carbonaria can be found in South America and parts of North America. A closeup shot of a turtle on a pink plastic slide at the park Carettochelys insculpta. Adult meerkat on a large turtle, selective focus Portrait of tirtle copulation under the tree, Arivonimamo, Antananarivo region, Madagascar Grey turtle animal in water in aquarium tank Giant Tortoises mating on the island of Mauritius. ![]() Portrait of single turtle isolated on white background Mauremys leprosa - The leprous pond turtle is a species of semi-aquatic pond turtle in the Geoemydidae family A large swamp turtle sits in terrarium African species of tortoise, turtle (Centrochelys sulcata) isolated on the white background. This reptile has the scientific name Trachemys scripta elegans. High quality photo Giant Seychelles tortoises mating, Aldabrachelys gigantea in Zanzibar An albino red ear slider tortoise is basking on dry logs. Underwater picture of a turtle in the ocean Underwater life - turtle swimming underwater 3D rendering of a sea turtle isolated on white background Aligator cayman crocodile rurrenabaque Bolivia Amazonas dschungle. Small manual turtle is riding a skateboard. An albino red ear slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) tortoise is basking on dry logs.
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