Re: Generators Revisited

Lee Bell wrote:
For good reason. You see what happens when you (menaing people)
start renaming things as something they aren't?

Mahi Mahi isn't even an english name. I don't know where Dorado came
from. I could probably make a case that the correct name is Dolphin
Fish, but that's not the point. Common usage determines correct
usage and, in this case, at least in my part of the United States,
Dolphin was the common term.

The correct (English) name IS Dolphinfish (All one owrd... see
http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=147). That's the point.

The dolphinfish is NOT a dolphin, regardless of what you (and those in your
area) might call it.

Do you have a cite for your claim that "common usage determines correct
usage?" I've never heard that in my life.

You really shouldn't base your opinions solely on the information
found in wikipedia.

I didn't. My opinion on the subject is based on common usage. The
reference to Wikipedia is simply an explanation why two animals might
not be distinguished by those that only saw them rolling in the waves.

Dolphins and porpoises are both in the order Cetacea (which includes
all of the true whales as well as dolphins and porpoises) and
suborder Odontoceti. Dolphins are then classified into the family
Delphinidae while porpoises are classified into Phocoenida. What
does all of that mean? According to essortment, it means that
Dolphins and and porpoises are as phisically different as cats and
dogs.

It does not mean that at all.

Actually, it means that exactly. They might not "look" as different as cats
and dogs, but they are genetically no more closely related than cats and
dogs. With both cats and dogs belonging to the order carnivora, but dogs
belonging to the family canidae and cats belonging to the family felidae,
the break happens at the same point in the taxonomic tree.

It only means that there are sufficient
differences to warrant different famlies. They could, and insome
circumstances, are quite similar in appearance.

Appearance oftentimes has little to do with "physical differences".


"In comparison to dolphins, porpoises are very small. Porpoises
seldom exceed 7 feet in length, whereas many dolphins can exceed 10
feet in length.

I don't think I'd call 7 feet very small compared to 10 and, as we
both know, dolphins aren't born 10 feet long. By far, the majority
I've seen are closer to 7.

I think that the point was that seven feet in a porpoise is an abnormality
while ten feet in a dolphin is a reasonably standard size. I had already
considered the "young" dolphin issue, and there are many other
distinguishing marks that could help to make a correct identification.
Regardless, based on the habits of porpoises, if you see a water mammal and
can't decide if it is a dolphin or a porpoise, you are generally more likely
to be correct to guess dolphin. This is because porpoises tend to avoid
people (among other unknown "enemies") and they rarely spend time on the
surface (except to breathe).


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Generators Revisited
    ... I can't say that whales do, but I can confirm that porpoises do. ... fish off the bite as I have never had a good days fishing with them ... You refer to something that is a dolphin as something ...
    (rec.scuba)
  • Re: Bipedalism in different substrates
    ... I would suppose that anyone writing a paper on hominid *environments* ... >dolphins and porpoises are there that are routinely smaller than 150 lbs? ... La Plata dolphin 32-52kg; ... Just pointing out some FACTS, ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: The back story behind the Swan and Dolphin hotels
    ... Because a dolphin IS a fish!! ... call dolphins are actually mammals and are really porpoises! ...
    (rec.arts.disney.parks)