Rainbow snail
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A new species of snail has been identified in eastern Taiwan. They're calling it Aegista diversifamilia as a way of remembering "the struggle for the recognition of same-sex marriage rights." The tie-in is that the snail is hermaphroditic. But this is really nothing new to snail-lovers, since the great majority of pulmonate snails, opisthobranchs, and slugs are hermaphrodites.
I was curious what they're calling Aegista diversifamilia in Mandarin, thinking perhaps it would be some strained attempt to represent the sounds of Latin with Chinese characters. But the Mandarin name takes the same approach as the original, yet phrases it differently: cǎihóng dàqí wōniú 彩虹大臍蝸牛 ("widely umbilicated rainbow snail").
This new species of rainbow snail in Taiwan is different from the rainbow snails found in Thailand last year:
"The brightly coloured rainbow snails discovered by scientists… and they already face extinction" (4/16/13)
A final note: In Taiwan, the Mandarin word for "snail", 蜗牛, is pronounced guāniú, but on the mainland, it is pronounced wōniú. Cf. Cantonese wo1ngau4, Japanese kagyū / katatsumuri.In Taiwan, the most famous snail reference is probably the Wúké guāniú liánméng 無殼蝸牛聯盟 ("Union of Snails without Shells"), which calls for affordable housing.
[Thanks to Mark Swofford]
snailboat said,
October 17, 2014 @ 12:48 am
I never understood why they were called 蝸牛 (lit. "snail cows"?).
Victor Mair said,
October 17, 2014 @ 1:49 am
@snailboat
It's got two horns and moves slowly.
leoboiko said,
October 17, 2014 @ 6:29 am
But does it look like a pig?
Victor Mair said,
October 17, 2014 @ 9:13 am
Oh, I forgot to mention that, except when it's sleeping (which is pretty often and for long periods of time), the snail is usually grazing.
As the proud owner of a very beautiful pet grove snail named Arnold, I'm quite familiar with snail behavior and must say that it does share certain characteristics with that of bovines, including pooping all over the place, except that, unlike a cow, Arnold's anus is up near his neck.
Watch his horns, proportionally as big as those of a Texas longhorn, and they're extendable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM7qH3nPKGQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjSo8YLW4H4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grove_snail
Victor Mair said,
October 17, 2014 @ 11:08 am
Good one, leoboiko!
The usual word for "tiger" in Modern Standard Mandarin (MSM) is lǎohǔ 老虎 (lit., "old tiger"), but in earlier vernacular and in certain topolects it was also called dàchóng 大虫 ("big bug / insect / worm / invertebrate").
J. F. said,
October 17, 2014 @ 12:26 pm
@Victor
But 蝸角 came to mean something tiny.
JS said,
October 17, 2014 @ 2:40 pm
I'm confident the syllable wo1 蜗 refers, in etymological terms, to the whorl of the snail's shell — compare wo1 涡 'whirlpool, eddy', etc.
David Fried said,
October 17, 2014 @ 3:33 pm
Shouldn't the "Union of Snails Without Shells" be called the "Slug Union"?
Terry Collmann said,
October 17, 2014 @ 4:31 pm
Whjat did the slug say to the snail?
"Big Issue, mate?"
(Explanation for non-UKians: the Big Issue is a street newspaper sold by the homeless)
Victor Mair said,
October 17, 2014 @ 11:57 pm
@J.F, @ JS
I agree with both of you; good points!
The wōniú 蝸牛 is a tiny bovine-like creature with pretentious tentacles that resemble horns and a whorled shell on its back.