Quote Originally Posted by 1beataway View Post
This would be a lot harder for me to spot just by looking, but I know that I've had trouble trying to find some animals (not just reptiles/amphibians either) by the common name in the store. I'm not sure what I can do in my store, unless I just to do whatever Kurt does (how does he know all those names? It's pretty amazing), but that would include trying to look up every reptile, amphibian, and fish we sell, and then trying to remember all that I found. And, I'm a college student. I have lots more I'm trying to cram into my head.
Remembering the names is easy. I know several and not just amphibians, but a lot of reptiles, arachnids, fish, some birds, and some mammals. I also try to keep up on the revisions. I used to write a little column in the NEHS newsletter so many years ago on the subject of taxonomic names versus common names. I would give a list of taxonomic names on one page and the common names on another.

Here's an example. See how many you know. The first ten are frogs, the last ten are not.

Lithobates palustris
Ameerega trivittata
Anaxyrus exsul
Litoria subglandulosa
Hyperolius semidiscus
Hylarana erythraea
Kaloula pulchra
Mantella laevigata
Pseudophryne corroboree
Rhacophorus reinwardtii

Dendroaspis polylepis
Hylobates lar
Turdus migratorius
Brachypelma smithi
Babycurus jacksonii
Thorichthys meeki
Crotalus adamanteus
Pan troglodytes
Ailuronyx jubatus
Herpele multiplicata