Animal name changes in Turkey explained

The animal name changes in Turkey is the revision of taxonomic nomenclature of three subspecies by the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The name changes removed references to Armenia and Kurdistan in the taxonomic nomenclature of subspecies of each animal.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

History and reaction

The declared taxonomic nomenclature for the three subspecies is effective for the Turkish Environment and Forestry Ministry. According to a statement released by the same ministry on March 4, 2005, the original names were divisive and contradicted "Turkish unity".[9] [10]

Some Turkish officials have said that the original taxonomic nomenclature was intended in bad faith to imply that Armenians and Kurds resided in the areas where the animals lived. However, only the scientific names of the animals were changed.

Andrew Polaszek, the executive secretary of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, the organization responsible for establishing species naming conventions, has said in an interview that acceptance of the revised names would depend upon article publications in scientific journals, but that they were otherwise acceptable from a scientific viewpoint.

Revised taxonomic nomenclature

AnimalScientific nameProposed new name
Vulpes vulpes kurdistanicaVulpes vulpes
Ovis armenianaOvis orientalis anatolicus
Capreolus capreolus armeniusCapreolus cuprelus capreolus

These changes currently affect only official taxonomic nomenclature usage by the Turkish government.

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Turkey renames 'divisive' animals. 26 January 2013. BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 March 2005.
  2. News: Gunaysu. Ayse. Learnings from the Sari Gelin Case. 26 January 2013. Armenian Weekly. March 4, 2009.
  3. Book: Shirana . Shahbazi . Rachid . Tehrani . Tirdad . Zolghadr . Emily . Cone-Miller . Shahrzad (Artists' group). Shahrzad: history . 2005. JRP Ringier. 26 January 2013. 97. 9783905701500 . Turkey Renames Armenian Animals.
  4. Book: Grigoriadis, Ioannis N.. Trials of Europeanization : Turkish political culture and the European Union. 2009. Palgrave Macmillan. New York. 9780230612150. 1st.
  5. Book: Morris, Chris. The new Turkey : the quiet revolution on the edge of Europe. 2006. Granta Books. London. 9781862078659. Paperback. registration. "A species of red fox known as Vulpes Vulpes Kurdistanica will henceforth be plain Vulpes Vulpes, while a species of wild sheep called Ovis Armeniana has been renamed Ovis Orientalis Anatolicus. Foreign scientists, the Ministry noted.. "
  6. [Revue des deux mondes]
  7. [La Recherche]
  8. Book: MacDonald, David B.. Identity politics in the age of genocide : the Holocaust and historical representation. 2008. Routledge. London. 9780415430616. 1. publ.. 26 January 2013. 125–126, 261. "The Ovis Armeniana (wild sheep) is now the Ovis Orientalis Anatolicus, while the roe deer, formerly known as Capreolus Capreolus Armenus, has become Capreolus Cuprelus Capreolus. These previous names have disappeared thanks to ..."
  9. News: Çevre Bakanlığı'nın üniter hassasiyeti. 29 December 2014. NTV:NTV. 4 March 2005.
  10. News: Pyne. Solana. Taxonomy, Turkish style. 26 January 2013. Science Now . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130701073833/http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2005/03/10-03.html . 1 July 2013.

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