Why molluscs have such strange names - scientists explained

Simply put, it's not just about biology, it's about history.

Details

A researcher from the University of Tokyo analysed the names of 773 families of molluscs - these include snails, bivalves and octopuses.

It turned out that about 72% of the names come from the ancient Greek language.

The reasons turned out to be not only scientific.

In the 19th century, European scientists often used Greek to emphasise their education and status. Sometimes they even specially "complicated" the words - added extra letters to make the name look more "Greek".

In doing so, such names became fixed and passed on, becoming the standard.

Why it matters

Research shows that science is not a completely neutral system.

The formation of names is influenced by:

• the culture and education of scientists
  historical traditions
• perceptions of "prestigious" language

This means that even scientific terms reflect the era in which they originated.

Background

Science has a system of rules for naming species and groups of organisms. It allows scientists around the world to use a common language.

Traditionally, it has been dominated by Latin and Ancient Greek.

Source

The study was published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (2026). The scientist analysed the history of mollusk names and their linguistic origins.