Re: Elks (was Re: The absurdity, the absurdity...)

[Chris Campbell <sankarah@ou.edu>]

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. wrote:
> So we have Europeans in Europe calling the big marsh deer "elk", and
> European colonists in North America calling it "moose" and calling a
> different animal "elk".
> 
> It is because of problems like this that Linneaus and co. proposed a
> standardized system of names for the organisms of the world.
> 
> (Incidentally, the big marsh deer (elk or moose) is technically _Alces
> alces_, and the North American elk (wapiti) is generally called _Cervus
> canadensis_).

Thanks for the clarification.  I think, perhaps, that I'll just excise
the term "elk" from my vocabulary and be done with it.  :)
 
Chris