Naming
The binomial name of the species as a whole is Ovis ammon, described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758, and all members of the species are commonly called "argali". The Marco Polo subspecies Ovis ammon polii was first described scientifically by zoologist Edward Blyth in 1841. These sheep are also commonly called "Marco Polo's Argali" or the "Pamir Argali.".
The sheep are named after the 13th century explorer Marco Polo because he described them in his book The Travels of Marco Polo. The 1914 Historical and Political Gazetteer of Afghanistan: Badakhshan notes that in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan the sheep are known locally as nakhjipar.
Read more about this topic: Marco Polo Sheep
Famous quotes containing the word naming:
“The night is itself sleep
And what goes on in it, the naming of the wind,
Our notes to each other, always repeated, always the same.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“Husband,
who am I to reject the naming of foods
in a time of famine?”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“See, see where Christ’s blood streams in the firmament!
One drop would save my soul—half a drop! ah, my Christ!—
Ah, rend not my heart for naming of my Christ!—
Yet will I call on him!—O, spare me, Lucifer!—
Where is it now? ‘T is gone; and see where God
Stretcheth out his arm, and bends his ireful brows!—
Mountains and hills, come, come and fall on me,
And hide me from the heavy wrath of God!”
—Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593)