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58-407: See text Taipans are snakes of the genus Oxyuranus in the elapid family. They are large, fast-moving, highly venomous , and endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Three species are recognised, one of which, the coastal taipan, has two subspecies . Taipans are some of the deadliest known snakes . The common name, taipan, was coined by anthropologist Donald Thomson after the word used by

116-468: A Hare or Deer. Sir Joseph Banks entered into his journal that the natives called it a "Kangooroo". The animal was thereafter called by this name by Europeans after settlement began. When Captain Phillip King stopped over on the same coast in 1820, however, and made the same enquiry, he was told that the animal in question was called minnar/meenuah . There arose an urban legend that in fact what

174-529: A feather headdress. They used wood from the ficus riduola as a rasp to sharpen their spears, which were tipped with bone. Their languages was quite mellifluous, with clear enunciation. Captain Cook left a few pigs on the land, and they bred quickly, to become a major local source of food. The tribes of the area around Cooktown were decimated, the Guugu Yimithirr being "substantially exterminated", by

232-407: A genus is determined by taxonomists . The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: Moreover, genera should be composed of phylogenetic units of

290-463: A large quantity of venom due to its large size. In 1950, Kevin Budden , an amateur herpetologist , was one of the first people to capture a taipan alive, although he was bitten in the process and died the next day. The snake, which ended up dying a few weeks later, was the first known taipan to have been milked for venom: Melbourne zoologist David Fleay and Dr. F. C. Morgan performed the milking, and

348-651: A later homonym of a validly published name is a nomen illegitimum or nom. illeg. ; for a full list refer to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants and the work cited above by Hawksworth, 2010. In place of the "valid taxon" in zoology, the nearest equivalent in botany is " correct name " or "current name" which can, again, differ or change with alternative taxonomic treatments or new information that results in previously accepted genera being combined or split. Prokaryote and virus codes of nomenclature also exist which serve as

406-498: A lineage giving rise to the taipans, with the Central Ranges taipan being an offshoot of the common ancestor of the inland and coastal taipans. Their diet consists primarily of small mammals , especially rats and bandicoots . Species of this genus possess highly neurotoxic venom with some other toxic constituents that have multiple effects on victims. The venom is known to paralyse the victim's nervous system and clot

464-628: A long time and redescribed as new by a range of subsequent workers, or if a range of genera previously considered separate taxa have subsequently been consolidated into one. For example, the World Register of Marine Species presently lists 8 genus-level synonyms for the sperm whale genus Physeter Linnaeus, 1758, and 13 for the bivalve genus Pecten O.F. Müller, 1776. Within the same kingdom, one generic name can apply to one genus only. However, many names have been assigned (usually unintentionally) to two or more different genera. For example,

522-454: A narrow gorge, a group of 28 Guugu-Yimidhirr men and 13 women. None of the men escaped: 24 were shot down on the beach, while four swam into the sea, never to be seen again. In 1885 a curfew was imposed on them, disallowing their movement after dusk. In the same year, while delayed on his journey to Kaiser-Wilhelmsland ( German New Guinea ), the Lutheran missionary Johann Flierl founded

580-525: A recently discovered third species, the Central Ranges taipan ( O. temporalis ). The coastal taipan has two subspecies: the coastal taipan ( O. s. scutellatus ), found along the northeastern coast of Queensland, and the Papuan taipan ( O. s. canni ), found on the southern coast of New Guinea. A 2016 genetic analysis showed that the speckled brown snake ( Pseudonaja guttata ) was an early offshoot of

638-409: A reference for designating currently accepted genus names as opposed to others which may be either reduced to synonymy, or, in the case of prokaryotes, relegated to a status of "names without standing in prokaryotic nomenclature". An available (zoological) or validly published (botanical) name that has been historically applied to a genus but is not regarded as the accepted (current/valid) name for

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696-407: A species, the large grey kangaroo , that was relatively rare in the coastal territory, while the other word reported by King was an approximation to their word for meat or edible animal ( minha ). Cook's report and reputation as a precise observer was vindicated. Guugu Yimithirr practice certain forms of social avoidance. The language itself has a form of avoidance language in which, speaking in

754-427: A taxon; however, the names published in suppressed works are made unavailable via the relevant Opinion dealing with the work in question. In botany, similar concepts exist but with different labels. The botanical equivalent of zoology's "available name" is a validly published name . An invalidly published name is a nomen invalidum or nom. inval. ; a rejected name is a nomen rejiciendum or nom. rej. ;

812-455: A total of c. 520,000 published names (including synonyms) as at end 2019, increasing at some 2,500 published generic names per year. "Official" registers of taxon names at all ranks, including genera, exist for a few groups only such as viruses and prokaryotes, while for others there are compendia with no "official" standing such as Index Fungorum for fungi, Index Nominum Algarum and AlgaeBase for algae, Index Nominum Genericorum and

870-461: A variety of factors: large-scale massacres , the kidnapping of women for rape and the abduction of their children, together with the lethal impact of consuming the opium that Chinese contractors paid to them for their work as hired labourers, and alcohol abuse . On 20 February 1879 there were 28 Aboriginal men shot and drowned at Cape Bedford . Cooktown-based Native Police Sub-inspector Stanhope O'Connor with his troopers hunted down and trapped in

928-612: Is discouraged by both the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants , there are some five thousand such names in use in more than one kingdom. For instance, A list of generic homonyms (with their authorities), including both available (validly published) and selected unavailable names, has been compiled by the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG). The type genus forms

986-511: Is known to have survived an Oxyuranus bite without antivenom: George Rosendale, a Guugu Yimithirr person bitten at Hope Vale in 1949. Murray writes that Rosendale's condition was so severe that nurses later showed him extracted samples of his own blood that were completely black in colour. Temperament also varies from species to species. The inland taipan is generally shy, while the coastal taipan can be quite aggressive when cornered and actively defends itself. Genus The composition of

1044-460: Is somewhat arbitrary. Although all species within a genus are supposed to be "similar", there are no objective criteria for grouping species into genera. There is much debate among zoologists about whether enormous, species-rich genera should be maintained, as it is extremely difficult to come up with identification keys or even character sets that distinguish all species. Hence, many taxonomists argue in favor of breaking down large genera. For instance,

1102-474: Is the type species , and the generic name is permanently associated with the type specimen of its type species. Should the specimen turn out to be assignable to another genus, the generic name linked to it becomes a junior synonym and the remaining taxa in the former genus need to be reassessed. In zoological usage, taxonomic names, including those of genera, are classified as "available" or "unavailable". Available names are those published in accordance with

1160-401: Is the administrative centre of Hopevale Shire . At the 2011 census , Hopevale had a population of 1,005 people. It is about 46 kilometres (29 mi) from Cooktown by road. It is also the name of their language. They were both a coastal and inland people, the former clans referring to themselves as a "saltwater people". The traditional territory of the Guugu Yimithirr speakers extended from

1218-621: The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature ; the earliest such name for any taxon (for example, a genus) should then be selected as the " valid " (i.e., current or accepted) name for the taxon in question. Consequently, there will be more available names than valid names at any point in time; which names are currently in use depending on the judgement of taxonomists in either combining taxa described under multiple names, or splitting taxa which may bring available names previously treated as synonyms back into use. "Unavailable" names in zoology comprise names that either were not published according to

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1276-824: The International Plant Names Index for plants in general, and ferns through angiosperms, respectively, and Nomenclator Zoologicus and the Index to Organism Names for zoological names. Totals for both "all names" and estimates for "accepted names" as held in the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG) are broken down further in the publication by Rees et al., 2020 cited above. The accepted names estimates are as follows, broken down by kingdom: The cited ranges of uncertainty arise because IRMNG lists "uncertain" names (not researched therein) in addition to known "accepted" names;

1334-610: The Wik-Mungkan Aboriginal people of central Cape York Peninsula , Queensland , Australia. The Wik-Mungkan people used the name in reference to an ancestral creator being in Aboriginal Australian mythology known as the Rainbow Serpent . The genus name is from Greek ὀξῠ́ς ( oxys : sharp, needle-like) and οὐρανός ( ouranos : an arch, specifically the vault of the heavens), and refers to

1392-400: The blood , which then blocks blood vessels and uses up clotting factors . Members of this genus are considered to be among the most venomous snakes in the world based on their murine LD 50 , an indicator of the toxicity on mice . The inland taipan is considered to be the most venomous snake in the world and the coastal taipan, which is arguably the largest Australian venomous snake, is

1450-419: The nomenclature codes , which allow each species a single unique name that, for animals (including protists ), plants (also including algae and fungi ) and prokaryotes ( bacteria and archaea ), is Latin and binomial in form; this contrasts with common or vernacular names , which are non-standardized, can be non-unique, and typically also vary by country and language of usage. Except for viruses ,

1508-404: The platypus belongs to the genus Ornithorhynchus although George Shaw named it Platypus in 1799 (these two names are thus synonyms ) . However, the name Platypus had already been given to a group of ambrosia beetles by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst in 1793. A name that means two different things is a homonym . Since beetles and platypuses are both members of the kingdom Animalia,

1566-529: The "Guugu Yimidhirr Warra Nation" extend from Lizard Island to the Hopevale region. The website "Dingaals Lizard Island" states that the island has been in the custodianship of the Dingaal people (possibly a clan name) for thousands of years. The Dingaals called the island "Dyiigurra", and the website mentions that "local Dingiil Aboriginal people have also been known to call the island Jiigurru". According to

1624-728: The Cairns Institute and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service , the Dingaal people are the traditional owners of the Lizard Island group. Lt. James Cook anchored at the mouth of the Endeavour River at the site of modern Cooktown , on 11 June 1770 after their ship, the HM Bark Endeavour was damaged on a reef, and stayed in the area for seven weeks while repair work was done on the hull. Though

1682-614: The Elim Aboriginal Mission some 230 miles (370 km) to the north of Cooktown, at Cape Bedford , and the following year the governance of the mission was assumed by the G. H. Schwartz, who renamed it Hope Vale . He stayed on with his converted congregation right through to the Second World War, when the population was relocated inland from Rockhampton . Schwartz, who had been there since the age of 19 and who had forgotten to take naturalisation, had mastered

1740-577: The Endeavour River outlet inland, ranged as far north as the mouth of the Starcke river , or, according to Norman Tindale , to the southern vicinity of Cape Flattery. Westwards it reached the source of the Jack River and south to Battle Camp , north-west of Cooktown . Tindale assigned them, in his estimations, an overall domain extent of some 600 square miles (1,600 km ). Dialects of

1798-463: The Endeavour they found a catch of local turtles, and expected a share of the harvest, which Cook, already strained to feed his own, declined to do. He offered them bread, which they refused with disgust. Different concepts of hospitality and the rules of sharing clashed. Soon after, the natives set fire to grass in the bay, and in retaliation, some received injuries from shot. One of the members of

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1856-519: The area in 1770. The major dialects are dhalun-dhirr , spoken on the coastal areas, and waguurr-ga , the inland vernacular. It is still spoken by approximately 200 people, and was listed by Peter Austin as one of the languages at immediate risk of extinction. Guugu Yimithirr had several dialects: dhalan-dhirr ('with the sea'); wagurrr-ga ('of the outside'); guugu nyiiguudyi ; guugu nyalaadyi ; guugu yinaa and guugu diirrurru . Because they intermarried widely with tribes speaking other tongues, it

1914-442: The base for higher taxonomic ranks, such as the family name Canidae ("Canids") based on Canis . However, this does not typically ascend more than one or two levels: the order to which dogs and wolves belong is Carnivora ("Carnivores"). The numbers of either accepted, or all published genus names is not known precisely; Rees et al., 2020 estimate that approximately 310,000 accepted names (valid taxa) may exist, out of

1972-465: The crew, Joseph Banks 's botanical draughtsman Sydney Parkinson , set down in his journal (published posthumously as A Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas ) a sketch of the local people. He described them as diminutive and small boned, agile, their skin painted with red and white ochre, with wood-sooty skin and generally given to shaving their hair off. They practised nose piercing . Women wore

2030-446: The form "author, year" in zoology, and "standard abbreviated author name" in botany. Thus in the examples above, the genus Canis would be cited in full as " Canis Linnaeus, 1758" (zoological usage), while Hibiscus , also first established by Linnaeus but in 1753, is simply " Hibiscus L." (botanical usage). Each genus should have a designated type , although in practice there is a backlog of older names without one. In zoology, this

2088-737: The generic name (or its abbreviated form) still forms the leading portion of the scientific name, for example, Canis lupus lupus for the Eurasian wolf subspecies, or as a botanical example, Hibiscus arnottianus ssp. immaculatus . Also, as visible in the above examples, the Latinised portions of the scientific names of genera and their included species (and infraspecies, where applicable) are, by convention, written in italics . The scientific names of virus species are descriptive, not binomial in form, and may or may not incorporate an indication of their containing genus; for example,

2146-531: The language is totally different from that in Western languages, where the reference system is relative with respect to the subject . In Guugu Yimidhirr, as in Kayardild space is rendered in absolute terms, like the cardinal points, north, south, east, west, independent of whether something is in front of, behind, to the left or right of a person. The language thus provides them with a mental map, allowing quite

2204-449: The language, contributing greatly to the retention of traditional knowledge, was interned as an enemy alien at 74. The colder climate had serious consequences for the displaced congregation, and many died. Guugu Yimidhirr , meaning 'language/speaking ( guugu ) 'this way' ( yimi-thirr ), was one of the earliest Australian languages to be recorded, since Sydney Parkinson took down a list of 200 words during Captain Cook 's stop-over in

2262-633: The largest component, with 23,236 ± 5,379 accepted genus names, of which 20,845 ± 4,494 are angiosperms (superclass Angiospermae). By comparison, the 2018 annual edition of the Catalogue of Life (estimated >90% complete, for extant species in the main) contains currently 175,363 "accepted" genus names for 1,744,204 living and 59,284 extinct species, also including genus names only (no species) for some groups. The number of species in genera varies considerably among taxonomic groups. For instance, among (non-avian) reptiles , which have about 1180 genera,

2320-440: The lizard genus Anolis has been suggested to be broken down into 8 or so different genera which would bring its ~400 species to smaller, more manageable subsets. Guugu Yimithirr people Location of the Guugu Yimithirr people The Guugu Yimithirr , also spelt Gugu Yimithirr and also known as Kokoimudji , are an Aboriginal Australian people of Far North Queensland , many of whom today live at Hopevale , which

2378-486: The modern population was displaced and pushed 30 miles northwards, this was the traditional land of the Guugu Yimithirr. The expedition's members found them to be quite friendly, though they initially kept their distance. After a month, the Europeans were approached by five men, and an amicable relationship was established, as they were shown the Endeavour. The day after, things deteriorated quickly when, while visiting

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2436-403: The most (>300) have only 1 species, ~360 have between 2 and 4 species, 260 have 5–10 species, ~200 have 11–50 species, and only 27 genera have more than 50 species. However, some insect genera such as the bee genera Lasioglossum and Andrena have over 1000 species each. The largest flowering plant genus, Astragalus , contains over 3,000 species. Which species are assigned to a genus

2494-428: The name could not be used for both. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach published the replacement name Ornithorhynchus in 1800. However, a genus in one kingdom is allowed to bear a scientific name that is in use as a generic name (or the name of a taxon in another rank) in a kingdom that is governed by a different nomenclature code. Names with the same form but applying to different taxa are called "homonyms". Although this

2552-412: The needle-like anterior process on the arch of the palate, which Kinghorn noted separated the genus from all other elapids. The oft-quoted meaning "sharp-tailed" (based on a confusion with οὐρά, oura , "tail", and Latin anus ) is both etymologically and morphologically incorrect. The three known species are the coastal taipan ( Oxyuranus scutellatus ), the inland taipan ( O. microlepidotus ), and

2610-478: The presence of certain family members (like a man's father-in-law or brother-in-law), one must adopt a different vocabulary from that normally employed. In everyday conversation 'the man is going' is bama dhaday . In the presence of certain kin, this must be altered to yambaal bali . Speaking was totally forbidden in the presence of one's mother-in-law, one being obliged to sit, with bowed head, silently ( guugu-mu ). The system of spatial coordination inscribed in

2668-541: The provisions of the ICZN Code, e.g., incorrect original or subsequent spellings, names published only in a thesis, and generic names published after 1930 with no type species indicated. According to "Glossary" section of the zoological Code, suppressed names (per published "Opinions" of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature) remain available but cannot be used as the valid name for

2726-470: The same kind as other (analogous) genera. The term "genus" comes from Latin genus , a noun form cognate with gignere ('to bear; to give birth to'). The Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus popularized its use in his 1753 Species Plantarum , but the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656–1708) is considered "the founder of the modern concept of genera". The scientific name (or

2784-527: The same language were spoken north of Cape Bedford and the McIvor River, and inland as far as the source of the Jack River . David Horton 's 1996 representation of Tindale's map shows the lands of the Guugu Yimithirr people extending from south of Hope Vale to an area which covers Lizard Island . The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority states on their website that the traditional lands of

2842-408: The scientific epithet) of a genus is also called the generic name ; in modern style guides and science, it is always capitalised. It plays a fundamental role in binomial nomenclature , the system of naming organisms , where it is combined with the scientific name of a species : see Botanical name and Specific name (zoology) . The rules for the scientific names of organisms are laid down in

2900-497: The specific name particular to the wolf. A botanical example would be Hibiscus arnottianus , a particular species of the genus Hibiscus native to Hawaii. The specific name is written in lower-case and may be followed by subspecies names in zoology or a variety of infraspecific names in botany . When the generic name is already known from context, it may be shortened to its initial letter, for example, C. lupus in place of Canis lupus . Where species are further subdivided,

2958-412: The standard format for a species name comprises the generic name, indicating the genus to which the species belongs, followed by the specific epithet, which (within that genus) is unique to the species. For example, the gray wolf 's scientific name is Canis lupus , with Canis ( Latin for 'dog') being the generic name shared by the wolf's close relatives and lupus (Latin for 'wolf') being

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3016-403: The taxon is termed a synonym ; some authors also include unavailable names in lists of synonyms as well as available names, such as misspellings, names previously published without fulfilling all of the requirements of the relevant nomenclatural code, and rejected or suppressed names. A particular genus name may have zero to many synonyms, the latter case generally if the genus has been known for

3074-403: The third-most venomous snake in the world. The Central Ranges taipan has been less researched than other species of this genus, so the exact toxicity of its venom is still not clear, but it may be even more venomous than the other taipan species. Apart from venom toxicity, quantities of venom delivered should also be taken into account for the danger posed. The coastal taipan is capable of injecting

3132-576: The values quoted are the mean of "accepted" names alone (all "uncertain" names treated as unaccepted) and "accepted + uncertain" names (all "uncertain" names treated as accepted), with the associated range of uncertainty indicating these two extremes. Within Animalia, the largest phylum is Arthropoda , with 151,697 ± 33,160 accepted genus names, of which 114,387 ± 27,654 are insects (class Insecta). Within Plantae, Tracheophyta (vascular plants) make up

3190-517: The venom was used to develop an antivenom , which became available in 1955. The original preserved specimen is currently stored in the facilities of Museums Victoria . Two antivenoms are available: CSL polyvalent antivenom and CSL taipan antivenom, both from CSL Limited in Australia. In his book Venom , which explores the development of a taipan antivenom in Australia in the 1940s and 1950s, author Brendan James Murray states that only one person

3248-429: The virus species " Salmonid herpesvirus 1 ", " Salmonid herpesvirus 2 " and " Salmonid herpesvirus 3 " are all within the genus Salmonivirus ; however, the genus to which the species with the formal names " Everglades virus " and " Ross River virus " are assigned is Alphavirus . As with scientific names at other ranks, in all groups other than viruses, names of genera may be cited with their authorities, typically in

3306-540: The word " kangaroo " must have meant, when the Indigenous people of the Endeavour River responded to the incomprehensible English query, was "I don't know". Light was shed on the point by the American anthropologist John Haviland , who studied the Guugu Yimithirr language intensively from 1971 onwards. He discovered that in fact a word like "kangaroo" did exist in Guugu Yimithirr, namely gangurru . This denoted however

3364-407: Was not unusual for Guugu Yimithirr people to be familiar with several languages. Cook reported sighting on Sunday 24 June 1770 an animal which was: of a light mouse Colour and the full size of a Grey Hound, and shaped in every respect like one, with a long tail, which it carried like a Grey hound; in short, I should have taken it for a wild dog but for its walking or running, in which it jumpd like

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