Response... Not Waisting Time on Rebuttal of a Non-Issue

[James Rose <jim@*************>]

There have been some incorrectly translated higher order names put  
into the dictionary in which the submitter translated the higher order  
taxonomic term to both mean the genus and the type species, apparently  
not aware of naming traditions in ichthyology.

In one discovered case thus far this person called a "family" of fish  
a "genus".  By his reasoning, スズキ目, which we translate as  
Perciforms, the largest of all vertebrate order, means both the order,  
but "most especially" a perch species of same name - 1 of the 7,000  
fish in this order.  The origin of the order name of course is that in  
the opinion of Western ichthyologist, all the fish in the order are  
"perch like" in their appearance, but what may have escaped this  
person is that a スズキ（鱸）Lateolabrax japonicus, the species  
the Japanese base the order name on, is not a perch but the Japanese  
seabass, as the Japanese like to use names of importance to them when  
trying to describe a group.  In the case of Lateolabrax japonicus, it  
is found only in Japan and off of China.

This is the case with many Japanese if not most Japanese taxonomic  
names.  The Japanese used their own names for fish they cared about,  
and organized their fish by genera and families and orders, not via  
translation of latin, as has been claimed, but by what fish they  
thought was the best "type" species, and what genus they thought was  
the best type genus of family etc.

In example, the type family of Perciforms is Percidae.  The type genus  
is Perca, and the type species is Perca flavescens, i.e., the North  
American Yellow Perch.

The Yellow Perch however was not of particular significance to the  
Japanese.  The Japanese name for the order Perciforms is スズキ目  
and is not typed on the family Percidae, but the family  
Percichthyidae, or temperate perches.  The type genus, スズキ属, is  
not Perca, but the genus Lateolabrax.  This is why translation is not  
obvious in most cases contrary to what was claimed by a self-appointed  
tzar of taxonomy who advocated inventing kanji names from proper  
katakana ones regardless of their existence in the language or not.

I am a certified scuba instructor with a certification to teach fish  
identification in two oceans.  I am also the top manager of new  
business development and sales and marketing in the world's leading  
tropical fish wholesaler, with exports to 27 countries around the  
world of live fish, and to almost 20 distributors in Japan alone. Fish  
that we collect in Australia, Kiritimate, Bora Bora, Pohnpei,  
Marquesas, Guam, here in Hawaii, etc.   I think I can speak with some  
authority as to the significance and importance of having a resource  
from which to type in the latin name of a fish or fish genus, family,  
or order, and readily produce the Japanese for quick and reliable,  
scientifically valid use (katakana form).  Here in Honolulu we cater  
to 1.5 million Japanese tourist a year, with 30,000 landing here every  
week; a number which is increasing in leaps almost every year.  To  
some, this dictionary is some kind of toy, or student experiment.  To  
me this is tool of business.

I can take my work and not share it with the world.  But I choose to  
do so via this venue.