Integrative and Comparative Biology Advance Access originally published online on May 2, 2007
Integrative and Comparative Biology 2007 47(1):166-167; doi:10.1093/icb/icm012
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Book Review |
Zoolexicon. Compiled by Warren Garst.
Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7617
Correspondence: E-mail: harold_heatwole{at}ncsu.edu
Zoolexicon. Compiled by Warren Garst
Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse. 2006. 628 pp. ISBN 1-4208-1525-3 (paperback) $28.90.
This book purports to be "a comprehensive reference of animal terms and words across the English speaking world." Such an all-inclusive claim immediately presented the challenge of finding a term the compiler had overlooked. I took the challenge and searched for the Australian word "bunyip." It wasn't in the main glossary but my gloating was short-lived when I found an entry for bunyips in Section B of the appendix "Cryptozootic Animals." (No, I’m not going to tell you what a bunyip is, you have to buy the book to find that out!) Although after arduous search, I did succeed eventually in finding minor faults, omissions were conspicuous by their rarity. The book is, indeed, both comprehensive and inclusive. In fact, it goes beyond its claim and includes terms and common names from languages other than English. The volume was obviously carefully checked and proofed as my editorial eye discovered only one error, and that in the preface where reference was made to "taxonomy systems" rather than to "taxonomic systems."
One usually considers compilations as reference material, and it is seldom that either telephone guides or dictionaries are used for pleasure reading. The Zoolexicon is an exception, and I found myself engrossed in reading page after page, particularly those of the topical appendices at the end of the book.
The main body of the book is an alphabetically arranged glossary of terms relating to animals (there were rare lapses of words in incorrect alphabetical order). This glossary is exhaustive and its entries from aardvark to zyzzva (I’m not going to tell you what a zyzzyva is either) encompasses 351 pages. A unique feature of this glossary is the inclusion, under selected entries, of a box enclosing a more detailed account. For example, following the definition of plumage there is a box comparing traditional and modern terminology describing the various seasonal plumages of passerine birds and waterfowl, as well as definitions of various aberrant plumages, for example, melanism.
I compared this glossary with my shelf of dictionaries of biology and zoology and found it to more extensive than most. It is, moreover, much more than merely a comprehensive dictionary. In addition, there are 275 pages of special appendices treating a variety of topics. First there are appendices on various domestic animals (asses, cats, cattle, guinea pigs, dogs, falcons and hawks, goats, honeybees, horses, doves and pigeons, pigs, poultry, rabbits and hares, and sheep). These glossaries are of general terms relating to the biology of the animals themselves as well as to the industries, sports (e.g., falconry, hunting, racing, rodeos), and breeders associations involving them. Where appropriate, there is a separate listing of the various breeds.
There is a listing, by Class, of other animals that are not extensively domesticated but are, nevertheless, tamed and used by humans to a certain extent in animal husbandry, aquaculture, production of leather, harvesting of venom, or use in biological control. One important omission is the animals used in research. One would have hoped for greater recognition of organisms like the laboratory rat and mouse, Drosophila, Xenopus, zebrafish, and Caenorhabditis elegans that have contributed so much to scientific understanding and human welfare and health. Also, no recognition is afforded the burgeoning hobby of herpetoculture or to other aspects of the trade in animals for pets. Another minor disappointment was my failure to find any allusion to the historic role played by Cleopatra's asp.
There is a listing of the various sounds animals make. Most people are aware that cows moo, ducks quack, dogs bark, lions roar, crows caw, and cats purr and meow, but how many know that some animals croodle, crunkle, or yang? Then there are lists of names for the tails of animals (e.g., bun, scut, and pompom just to stimulate your interest), lists of names for footprints, for refuges, "beds," terms describing the flushing of animals, and finally lists of the words for excrement (including slang and "four-letter" words) and other bodily discharges and for mating (here I did find an Australian/New Zealand term missing) and giving birth. There is a rather extensive glossary of terms relating to animal fur and a listing of the names for hybrid animals. There is a fascinating list of "zoanths," terms using animal names to characterize human attributes or behavior (e.g., beetlebrain, barfly, copycat).
More fancifully, there are sections on the role of animals in heraldry, symbolism, and superstition, including mythological creatures, cryptozootic animals, and hoaxes. The animals involved in the constellations are listed. The Chinese 12-year calendar, organized by type of animal, is explained, and the years assigned to each animal listed. There is a list of derivative words cross-listed as nouns and adjectives (e.g., frog and toad cross-listed as anuran, salientian, and batrachian), separately by Class of animal. A similar cross-listing of trophic habits is included, for example, formicivorous is cross-listed with ants, and herbivorous with plants. Nectarivory is an omission. Another derivative cross-listing is by niches or habitat (e.g., aquatic for living in water, and agaricolous for living in mushrooms).
Another absorbing appendix lists collective nouns, even the "exaltation of larks." Almost everyone can name a number of kinds of animals that occur in colonies, herds, or flocks, but how many know what kind of animals group into fesynes, or burdens, or sedges?
The book ends with a listing, by chapter and verse, of the animals of the Bible.
Not only is this book a reference work of value for naturalists, biologists, animal breeders, veterinarians, zoo keepers, and persons associated with sports involving animals, but it is fascinating to read for pleasure, and well worth the price.
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