Spot the Frippet: a eutherian.

Is there a better joke than the fact that the scientific (scientific!) name for human is Homo sapiens or wise man?

If there is, it may be contained in the word eutherian.

Ah well, at least spotting eutherians is easy. See that dog?


photo by Dean Beeler

That cat?


photo by Umberto Salvagnin

That sheep, cow, buffalo, reindeer?


photo by Alexandre Buisse (Nattfodd)

All eutherians.

Oh, and see that mirror?


Girl at a Mirror by Jhr Pieter Hendrix Six van Vromade

You'll find a eutherian in there, too.

You have to laugh.

Spot the Frippet: eutherian. A eutherian is one of a sub-class of mammals which reach an advanced state of development before being born (advanced being relatively relative because it includes not only the young horse, which can wobble to its feet within hours of birth, but the human, which doesn't become truly independent until...well, in some cases, until inheriting the wealth of its parents). In fact all mammals which aren't marsupials or monotremes are eutherians. The word comes from the Greek eus-, which means good, and thēria, which means beasts.