taxonomic etymology

Tetraodontidae

Mastodon

From Greek mastos (”breast”) + odont (”tooth”).

Named for the rounded protrusions on top of its molars. I’ll let you make up your own mind.

image credit: top: Charles R. Knight [Public domain]

Leopard

From Greek leon (”lion”) + pardos (”male panther”), derived from the belief that the leopard was a hybrid of the two.

Lycoperdon

From Greek lýkos (”wolf”) + pérdomai (“to break wind”).

Lycoperdon is a genus of puffball mushroom, known as “wolf farts” in Spanish (pedos de lobo) and French (vesse-de-loup).

Ekrixinatosaurus

From Greek ekrixi (”explosion”) + Latin nātus (”born”) + Greek sauros (”lizard”).

The genus was discovered due to blasting during construction of a gas pipeline in Argentina. 

Csiromedusa medeopolis

From Greek mede (”genitals, gonads”) + polis (”city”). So named because the gonads of each sex are arranged around the top of the animal, resembling  "skyscrapers in a downtown business district.”

The genus name comes from CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, + medusa (“jellyfish”).

Colepiocephale

From Latin colepium (”knuckle, unidentified preparation of meat”) + Greek kephalē (”head”).

Coliocephale is a genus of pachycephalosaurid (thick head lizard) dinosaur. 

Above: a bird with no legs that never lands on Earth

Paradisaea apoda - greater bird-of-paradise

From a- (”not”) + Greek pous, pod- (”foot”) 

The original study specimens were prepared by local New Guineans with the wings and legs removed, leading to the myth that the birds, as visitors from paradise, never landed on Earth.

Struthio camelus - common ostrich

From Greek strouthós (“bird”) and kámēlos (“camel”), via Latin struthiocamelus (”ostrich”). 

Romans also knew the ostrich as  passer marinus (”sea bird”), because they were imported by sea. 

Vermilingua

From Latin vermis (”worm”) + lingua (”tongue”).

Vermilingua is the suborder of mammals that contains the anteaters. 

Smilodon fatalis - sabre-toothed tiger

From Greek smilē (”knife”) + odont (”tooth”) and Latin fatalis  (”deadly”).

Ceratotherium simum - white rhinoceros 

From Greek keras (”horn”) + thērion (”beast”) and  simos (”flat-nosed”).

Rhinoceros

From Greek rhis (”nose”) + keras (”horn”).

Narwhal 

Probably from Old Norse na ("corpse") + hvalr ("whale"), referring to its grey colour. 

Monodon monoceros

Threskiornis

From Greek thrēskeia (”religion, worship) + ornis (”bird”). The genus Threskiornis includes the African sacred ibis, worshipped by ancient Egyptians. 

Hippopotamus amphibius - Common hippopotamus

From Greek hippos (”horse”) + potamos (”river”) and amphi (”both”) + bios (”life”) 

Macropus rufus - red kangaroo

From Greek makros (”large, long”) + pous (”foot”) and Latin rufus (”red”).

Other bigfoot species include:

giant bigfoot, Macropus giganteus - eastern grey kangaroo

sooty bigfoot, Macropus fuliginosus - western grey kangaroo

nimble bigfoot, Macropus agilus - agile wallaby