Talk:Chilean mussel

Latest comment: 6 years ago by Philippe Borsa in topic About names

About names

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The primary vernacular name in an article should be the one that is in predominant usage in the English language. The name Chilean mussel was recently replaced by "Montevideo mussel" /in this article/, but the only reference given to that name was a French language article from the early 19th century. While I did not trace that reference, it is hardly sufficient evidence for the predominant 21st century usage in English (or for any usage in that language). Indeed google does not find this name. So it should be justified remove it. Chorito (talk) 23:57, 20 October 2017 (UTC)Reply

Repeating this, as the name "Montevideo mussel" was returned to the text (after the removal). In the English wikipedia, only the usage of the names in English language is considered. This name was never used in English, and it does not matter what name equivalents have been used in other languages. Also, the principle of priority of names applies to scientific names only, and the "originality" of vernacular names would not be an argument, but rather the prevalence of use. I will remove Montevideo mussel, please do not return it without discussing the issue here first. Chorito (talk) 19:45, 12 November 2017 (UTC)Reply


There are two issues overlooked by Chorito: (1) The first problem with this page before it was extensively amended by Sabar Paijo was that a number of authors stick to the name Mytilus chilensis because it is widely used by themselves and also by mussel producers from Chile. Mytilus chilensis being a junior synonym of Mytilus platensis, the sole correct name for the native blue mussel from South America is Mytilus platensis. (2) Vernacular name: the correct vernacular name for M. platensis is not "Chilean mussel" but Montevideo mussel, which is the English translation of Moule de Montevideo. This is the name coined by Alcide d'Orbigny, who is the scientist who first described the native blue mussel from South America. The fact that d'Orbigny was French and that his description was in the nineteenth century should not be a problem here. Philippe Borsa (talk) 22:54, 13 November 2017 (UTC)Reply

Moreover, Chorito moved the "Mytilus chilensis" page to "Chilean mussel", which has implications on the content of the page. Chorito should not have done this move without changing the content to some extent, which he/she has not done. Besides, there was no reason to do this move, which unfortunately I cannot undoPhilippe Borsa (talk) 17:36, 15 November 2017 (UTC)Reply