Names like "giraffe" and "jerboa" are nice and snappy, but what are you supposed to do when you're a naturalist trying to name yet another smallish rodent or brownish beetle? Sometimes all the good options are already taken. At other times, humans have named animals based only on their usefulness to us. Whatever the reason, here are a few species that got a bum deal.
Edible dormouse Poor
The chubby little rodent got its common name because the ancient Romans considered it a delicacy. Before a feast, they'd fatten the animals up on a diet of nuts. Today, the edible dormouse lives in forests across Europe, as well as in some cities. It spends half the year hibernating underground, or sometimes in a warm corner of a basement or attic. The edible dormouse is still hunted in Slovenia and Croatia.
Right whale There are several species of right ...
