If you’re anything like me, you find the stories behind the names of species of significant value in acquiring an understanding of those species themselves. Indeed, in many cases, a knowledge of both the former and the latter can shed otherwise imperceivable light upon them both.
When you hear names of bird species such as Cetti’s Warbler, Townsend’s Solitaire, or MacGillivray’s Fairy-wren, do you ever stop and give thought to who Cetti, Townsend, or MacGillivray were? And for that matter, was MacGillivray the same MacGillivray of the MacGillivray’s Warbler?
Most naturalists will recognize the person so honored in the names of species such as Sylvilagus audubonii (the Desert, or Audubon’s, Cottontail) or Setophaga townsendi (Townsend’s Warbler), but what about Edalorhina perezi (Pérez’s Snouted Frog)?