Oh man. So I've been saying scute wrong? I had no idea. I have no torty friends AFK.
How do you pronounce it???
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thatrebecca said:
I doubt it. It's all everyone's interpretation really. I would bet its scoot (scute).
abclements said:
Pssomabates is a genus of tent tortoises from south Africa.
It's amazing how often the word "sulcata" gets botched. A few Craigslist ads reposted here even spelled the word "sucada," no doubt because that's how some people hear it.
Sulcata is pronounced "sull-CAH-tuh." It comes from the Latin sulcus, meaning furrow or crevice. It refers to the unique shape of this tortoise's marginal scutes, which curl up a bit, creating a spoon-like concavity on the top.
Speaking of scute, this word is correctly pronounced "scewt," and rhymes with cute and mute. People often say it like "scoot" (rhymes with boot and fruit), but that is not the preferred pronunciation.
Other word pronunciations:
Brumate is pronounced "BROO-mate" (a reptilian form of hibernation)
Aestivate is pronounced "ESS-ti-vate" (hot weather dormancy)
Chelonian is pronounced "kell-OH-nee-un" ("chel-" is always pronounced kell-, keel-, or kull- in scientific nomenclature)
Sphagnum is pronounced "SFAG-num" (a genus of northern moss)
Psammobates is pronounced "SAM-oh-bate-eez" (a genus of South African tortoise)
Sulcata is pronounced "sull-CAH-tuh." It comes from the Latin sulcus, meaning furrow or crevice. It refers to the unique shape of this tortoise's marginal scutes, which curl up a bit, creating a spoon-like concavity on the top.
Speaking of scute, this word is correctly pronounced "scewt," and rhymes with cute and mute. People often say it like "scoot" (rhymes with boot and fruit), but that is not the preferred pronunciation.
Other word pronunciations:
Brumate is pronounced "BROO-mate" (a reptilian form of hibernation)
Aestivate is pronounced "ESS-ti-vate" (hot weather dormancy)
Chelonian is pronounced "kell-OH-nee-un" ("chel-" is always pronounced kell-, keel-, or kull- in scientific nomenclature)
Sphagnum is pronounced "SFAG-num" (a genus of northern moss)
Psammobates is pronounced "SAM-oh-bate-eez" (a genus of South African tortoise)
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This post is turning into a monster!! I'm realizing it's not just sulcata that I can't say! Thanks everyone for your input! With all of this awesome "how do you say it" info, maybe this should get stickied up top? Just a thought, it could really help some newbies self educate!
GeoTerraTestudo said:
BTW - Come to think of it, that sulcata for sale on Craigslist was actually listed as a "secada." With that spelling, you'd think the tortoise would break out in song and start performing "Just Another Day" from 1992 (sorry, a little Jon Secada humor there).
Anyway, clearly the owner did not know the proper spelling or pronunciation for that species. Not really surprising, since this person didn't know much else about tortoises, either, as evidenced by the terrible shape his pet was in (unfortunately, an all-too-common occurrence on CL).
Thanks GeoTT.
So far I am spot on...with those words at least lol
Heather
Sent from my Android TFO app
So far I am spot on...with those words at least lol
Heather
Sent from my Android TFO app
GeoTerraTestudo said:
And actually, a minor correction on the stress or accent of this word:
Psammobates is pronounced "sam-oh-BATE-eez"
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Looks like you put the emphAsis on the wrong syLLAble ;P
GeoTerraTestudo said:
LOL. It gets somewhat tough trying to spell out the pronunciations. But definitely your examples are much better than mine. I love seeing people see this genus and try to pronounce it in person.
Another good one is;
indotestudo travancorica That one stumbles people too.
and some of the galapagos too like
chathamensis (The San Cristobol islalnd most say "chue" instead of Kah thuh Men Cyst but cyst without the T.
Oh latin how you are so great. I love it. I stumble all the time on some of the snake ones for sure.
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I do not understand this.
tortadise said:
Ah yes, the Southeast Asian forest tortoises. Indotestudo travancorica is pronounced "In-doh-tes-TOO-doh trav-an-COR-i-ca."
tortadise said:
In Latin, chathamensis means "from Chatham" (Chatham Island is also known as San Cristobol Island). That would be pronounced like this: "Cha-tham-en-sis." The ch- is actually pronounced as a "ch," because it's based on the name Chatham, which is from English, not Greek (the suffix -ensis means "from"). However, the full scientific name of the San Cristobol Island Galapagos tortoise is Chelonoidis chathamensis. The genus Chelonoidis is pronounced "Keel-on-OY-dis" (Chelon is Greek for turtle).
the567spud said:
What don't you understand?
Loving this thread!!! Any suggestions on how to pronounce "boettgeri"? As in Testudo hermanni boettgeri? 
When I try to pronounce any of those Latin words, I stumble over my tongue, so you don't have a clue if I said it right or not, usually, okay always not . I just heard cloaca pronounced. They said it like (clow a ka). I always say (clow ka) then I usually say (something) like that
. I just heard cloaca pronounced. They said it like (clow a ka). I always say (clow ka) then I usually say (something) like that
abclements said:
Hahahahaa!!!
Moozilion said:Loving this thread!!! Any suggestions on how to pronounce "boettgeri"? As in Testudo hermanni boettgeri?
The word "Testudo" is Latin for "tortoise," and literally means "shelled animal." When Carl Linnaeus first invented scientific nomenclature, he placed all tortoises in that genus. Since then, of course, only the Mediterranean group retains that taxonomy. The word "hermanni" is Latin for "belonging to Hermann." This refers to 18th Century physician and naturalist Johann Hermann.
The word "boettgeri" is Latin for "belonging to Böttger." Dr. Oskar Böttger was a German zoologist and herpetologist who lived from 1844-1910. Many amphibians and reptiles were scientifically named in his honor, so that's a good pronunciation to know. In German, the letter "ö" (known as "oh-umlaut") is pronounced like an "o," except with the lips protruding a bit more. It's difficult for non-German speakers to make this sound, but it sounds a little like the English soft double-oh ("oo"), as heard in book and look. Thus, the name Böttger is pronounced "BOOT-ger" (sounds a bit too much like "booger," if you ask me!). Therefore, the scientific name Testudo hermanni boettgeri is pronounced like this:
"Test-OO-doh HERR-mun-eye BOOT-ger-eye."
BTW - The popular dwarf African clawed frog was also named in Böttger's honor. Its scientific name is Hymenochirus boettgeri, which is pronounced like this:
"High-men-oh-KY-russ BOOT-ger-eye."
wellington said:When I try to pronounce any of those Latin words, I stumble over my tongue, so you don't have a clue if I said it right or not, usually, okay always not
Cloaca is Latin for sewer, and is pronounced like this:
"cloh-AY-cah."
Thanks!!!
Try "colubrid"
StudentoftheReptile said:
Colubridae is the largest family of snakes, and is pronounced:
"Kull-OO-brid-eye."
"Colubrid," meaning "member of Colubridae" is pronounced:
"Kull-OO-brid."
Hey, GeoTerraTestudo- do you know the meaning of Latin bird names too, or just reptiles?
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