Why so many mollusks sound Greek—their naming evolves at a snail's pace

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” said Juliet Capulet in William Shakespeare’s famous play. And the same is probably true for molluscs, although with different smells. When we think about the scientific names of animals, including our own species, Homo sapiens, it is tempting to think of them as neutral, objective labels. But Taro Yoshimura, a researcher in evolutionary paleontology at the University Museum of the University of Tokyo, views scientific names as time capsules that reflect the culture and education of the people who invented them.