依靠學名考證賦予臺灣的鍬形蟲 (鞘翅目；鍬形蟲科) 切合分類關係的系統性中文名

Abstract

鍬形蟲 (Coleoptera; Lucanidae) 是高度商業化且常作為科普教育媒介而為臺灣大眾所接觸的昆蟲分類群，其名稱資訊對大眾認知有高度影響力。因由拉丁字母組成的生物二名法學名並不利於中文母語者閱讀及口語交流，能反映親緣關係的本土化名稱將有利於人們認識鍬形蟲分類地位並在教學與貿易等情境中精確表達。同樣擁有漢字書寫系統的日本，對生物本土化名稱存在「標準和名」之概念，能表達生物親緣關係的精確本土化名稱，與大眾慣用的市場名稱可相互獨立存在，適用不同情境需求。臺灣昆蟲領域已有中華昆蟲學會 (現為台灣昆蟲學會) 早期制定之昆蟲科級中文名，前人研究亦提出親緣關係式中文名之規範概念，賦予臺灣的鍬形蟲反映親緣關係之中文名有其應用價值。目前臺灣大眾習慣使用的鍬形蟲科物種中文名主要來自日文名的借用與轉寫，或者其他不同的歷史來源，且在橫跨不同時代與作者的學術文獻或大眾書籍中歷經多次零散、缺乏統一標準的更動，因此以反映親緣關係的需求而言尚有完善空間。另一方面，中國因分布許多缺乏可借用傳統日文名的分類群，長久以來存有與臺灣不同的中文名系統，其中許多名稱使用學名直譯的方式形成中文名，中文名字詞結構亦具備與生物二名法學名對應的基礎，不失為賦予鍬形蟲親緣關係式中文名之理想方向，然而相關前人研究中對鍬形蟲學名的釋義與翻譯常見與歷史文獻不符之處，且缺乏語源學文獻支持，未必能全盤以學名直譯，多有混雜多元中文名形成方式以致標準不一之情事。本研究基於親緣關係式中文名、學名直譯等前人研究概念，以完善臺灣鍬形蟲對應學名之中文名為目標，在可得材料範圍內詳盡考證臺灣截至2025年12月，共21屬、61種群之鍬形蟲物種學名以及其在分類歷史中涉及的部分異名之語源、並列出語源學文獻以供參考、分析固有中文名問題，彙整以反映學名為標準的中文名形成方式建議。期望本研究建議的中文名形成原則未來得以拓展至外國鍬形蟲物種，替臺灣民眾建立符合學名的鍬形蟲中文名系統，讓分類學與生物二名法學名識讀等概念更易於教育及商業領域推廣。

Stag beetles (Coleoptera; Lucanidae) is a highly commercialized insect taxon that frequently serves as a medium for popular science education, with which the general public in Taiwan is highly familiar; consequently, the taxonomic nomenclature associated with this group exerts a significant influence on public perception. Because scientific names formulated under Latin-based binomial nomenclature are inherently difficult for native Mandarin speakers to read and communicate orally, Mandarin vernacular names that reflect phylogenetic relationships are essential to help the public recognize the taxonomic status of stag beetles and to facilitate precise communication in educational and commercial contexts. In Japan, which shares the logographic Kanji character writing system, established concept of "Standard Japanese Names" has long existed. These vernacular names, which reflect phylogenetic affinities, can coexist independently alongside popular market names used by the general public, serving different situational needs. In Taiwan’s entomological field, the Taiwan Entomological Society (formerly The Entomological Society of the Republic of China) established family-level Mandarin vernacular name system for insects early on, and previous studies have proposed suggestions for insect vernacular names such as “Insect Phylogenetic Chinese Vernacular Name Formulation Principles”. Thus, assigning Mandarin vernacular names that reflect phylogenetic relationships to stag beetles of Taiwan possesses significant practical value. Currently, the Mandarin vernacular names for Lucanidae species commonly used by the public in Taiwan are primarily borrowed or transliterated from Japanese names, or derived from various other historical sources. Moreover, these names have undergone fragmented, unstandardized modifications across academic literature and popular books spanning different eras and authors, leaving substantial room for improvement in terms of reflecting phylogenetic relationships. On the other hand, because China is home to many taxa that lack traditional Japanese names to borrow from, it has long maintained a Mandarin naming system distinct from that of Taiwan. Many of these names are constructed through the literal translation of scientific names by previous authors, and the lexical structure of Mandarin vernacular names naturally provides a foundation that corresponds to binomial nomenclature, making this an ideal direction for assigning phylogenetic-based Mandarin vernacular names to stag beetles. However, in relevant prior studies, the interpretation and translation of stag beetle scientific names often conflict with historical literature and lack supporting etymological reference. Consequently, literal translation cannot be applied indiscriminately, and the mixture of diverse naming methodologies has frequently resulted in inconsistent standards. Grounded in prior concepts of phylogenetic-based Mandarin vernacular names and the literal translation of scientific names, this study aims to refine the Mandarin vernacular names corresponding to the scientific names of stag beetles of Taiwan. Within the scope of available materials, this research conducts an etymological investigation of the scientific names of 21 genera and 61 species-groups of stag beetles recorded in Taiwan along with some of their synonyms as of December 2025. By providing reference to etymological literature, analyzing existing issues in current Mandarin vernacular names, this study compiles recommendations for constructing Mandarin vernacular names standardized to reflect their scientific names. It is hoped that the proposed principles for Mandarin vernacular name construction can be extended to foreign stag beetle species in the future, establishing a scientific name-aligned Mandarin nomenclature system for stag beetles for the Taiwanese public, thereby rendering concepts of taxonomy and binomial nomenclature literacy more accessible for promotion in educational and commercial domains.