Taxonomic Graecism: the historical hegemony of Ancient Greek and cultural bias in molluscan family nomenclature

Scientific nomenclature is ostensibly a neutral system for identifying biodiversity, yet it remains deeply embedded in the cultural and intellectual history of its practitioners. In this study, I introduce the concept of ‘taxonomic Graecism’ (the preferential use of Ancient Greek roots over Latin to project scholarly authority) and quantify its prevalence within the phylum Mollusca. Through a comprehensive etymological analysis of 773 extant molluscan family names, coupled with authorial demographic data, I reveal a profound linguistic and cultural skew. Results demonstrate an overwhelming dominance of Ancient Greek (71.8%) over Latin (26.1%), a trend that surged in the late 19th century and has stabilized as a form of ‘linguistic climax’. This preference is linked statistically to authorial identity; European authors, particularly from the UK and France, were significantly more likely to use Greek roots than their American counterparts. Furthermore, naming practices exhibit distinct sociological biases, including a remarkably low incidence of eponyms (6.3%) in comparison to other taxa, and a high degree of national homophily, whereby authors predominantly honour compatriots. These findings challenge the perception of taxonomy as a purely objective enterprise, highlighting how historical Eurocentrism, classical education, and gendered social networks have actively shaped the linguistic landscape of biodiversity.