Most people would call it a “field mouse,” but a scientist would ask, “Was it Peromyscus maniculatus? Or Peromyscus leucopus?”
Scientists use a system of complicated-sounding names to refer to everyday creatures, a practice heavily lampooned in the Warner Bros. cartoons featuring the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote – or, respectively, Accelleratii incredibus and Carnivorous vulgaris.
