Re: paleonet Tremalkanal

[Judith Harris <harrisj@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks Peter Paul Smolka for the etymology. I was wondering about it.  
I have studied extant fish and crocs and have taught about ancient  
fish so I too was wondering about this word after Franz-Josef sent  
the question. Those grooves that one sees on the skulls of some  
aquatic animals do resemble a small diastema.

And to you Franz-Josef, thanks for asking the question. Maybe I can  
in the next year or two visit you in Oslo and see your fish  
collection. I have a son-in-law who is Swedish and they want me to  
visit Scandanavia. Would that be possible.

Perhaps I shouldn't put this on the list but what the heck.

judith harris
emerita professor
university of colorado museum
p.o. box 278
chama, nm  87520
harrisj@valornet.com


On Aug 4, 2006, at 8:22 AM, Peter Paul Smolka wrote:

> On Thu, 3 Aug 2006, Franz-Josef Lindemann wrote:
>
>> Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2006 20:26:50 +0200
>> From: Franz-Josef Lindemann <f.j.lindemann@nhm.uio.no>
>> Reply-To: paleonet@nhm.ac.uk
>> To: paleonet@nhm.ac.uk
>> Subject: paleonet Tremalkanal
>> A century ago the Swedish palaeontologist Carl Wiman used the term  
>> "Tremalkanal" (in his German-written papers) when describing  
>> sensory grooves in temnospondyls (e.g. Wiman 1914). I have never  
>> seen this term anywhere else and wonder if anybody could direct me  
>> to a textbook using it. Or would anybody be able to explain the  
>> terms etymology? The only origin I could imagine is the Greek  
>> "trema" meaning hole or opening, but not groove or canal or  
>> furrow. Wiman also speaks of Schleimkanal (= mucus, slime), but I  
>> cannot find any etymological link to trema(l) there either.
>>
>> Any ideas?
>
> Dear Franz-Josef,
>
> "Tremalkanal" is (to explain for those unfamiliar with German)
> "Tremal" "channel", e.g. a "channel" with a "trema".
>
> A "trema" is today in dentistry (tooth medicine) a true diastema.
>
> Related ("somehow") a "small gateway between the cutting-teeth",
> e.g. the two central teeth in the mouth.
>
> Being _unfamiliar_ with above fossil group I would think wether a
> "small gateway between tooth-like" (morphological of course) features
> could be meant.
>
> Consulting a wordbook of dentistry (in the sense of a tooth-clinic)
> might help. Possibly they have equivalents to the "Visser".
>
>>
>> Cheers,
>> fj
>>
>> Franz-Josef Lindemann
>> Natural History Museum, University of Oslo
>
> ( ... )
>
> Best regards
>>
> Peter
> **********************************************************************
> Dr. Peter P. Smolka
> University Muenster
> Geological Institute
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