When did the Latin name for the Northen Gannet change from Sula bassana to Morus bassanus and why?

Answer 1

Heh. Depending on who you ask, it HASN'T changed. Let's break it down:

The names given in Latin for animals are usually just the most specific part of their scientific classification. Now originally the whole classification system was just set up so you could tell animal A from animal B, so it involved a bunch of branching questions you might ask and then refer to the animal to see in which classification it belonged. This was a pretty good idea at the time, because with only one name for each type of animal and a systematic way of determining such things, everyone could talk about the same things.

A wrinkle was introduced as biology developed as a science. With the advent of evolution, and confirmed with DNA sequencing and the like, it was discovered that the classification system that was (almost) haphazardly put together just to sort animals was actually pretty descriptive of common ancestry. Animals that had a lot in common probably shared recent common ancestors, and animals with less in common were more distantly related. This eureka of how an accidental classification system could correspond so closely to molecular evidence is still one of the most compelling justifications for the evolutionary theory today.

The problem is that the correspondance wasn't perfect, and that even now new connections are be found and old ones are being discredited. So while the old chart was (more or less) static, scientific classifications these days not only change, but are argued about, changed back, and sometimes just not accepted by some experts.

This is the case we have with the family 'Sulidae'. This family includes all the birds that are generally referred to as gannets and boobies. About this, at least, there is no argument.

Now, it used to be thought that pretty much all existing species of Sulidae came from just one group of ancestors. The Sula. You see this kind of similar naming crop up a lot in taxonomy, especially when the groups are small but distinct. In addition to the still-living Sula, there were also any number of extinct fossil groupings which did not survive. All these groups which made up the family of Sulidae are each called a 'genus', and their names are the first part of the Latin name that animals are commonly referred to.

This old model of how things happened is now (largely) superceded by a new one. There are now thought to be THREE living genuses: Morus (all the gannets), Sula (almost all the boobies), and Papasula (which has just one species - Abbot's Booby). So basically most biologists have decided from the evidence that three of the ancient groups survived instead of just one, and they did so probably on the basis of fossils that have been found, DNA evidence, and the like.

But some do not agree with this decision, so you'll actually still see references to both 'Sula bassana' and 'Morus bassanus'. The second name, that of the species, is really the same name... it's only different between the two because of the rules of Latin grammar.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

A genus change. Sula is an island off Scotland, where eggs are taken for food. That is about all I could find. The names seem rather interchangeable; rare, but does happen.