Reference to "bear" should be removed as it is not correct or common imo. Or, if it is, provide more sources. 203.221.207.34 (talk) 10:26, 22 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

How often is a platypus called "duck billed"? It doesn't matter. Both are historically accurate and appear in reliable sources and popular media, so belong in Wikipedia. Doug butler (talk) 11:08, 22 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"Koala bear" is an anachronism that confuses those ignorant of basic zoology, leading them to believe that the koala is a species of bear, in the same way that sloth bear refers to a species of bear that resembles a sloth. Or for instance the bear cuscus is the name of a species of cuscus, not a species of bear. Nor is the platypus example relevant. Duck-billed platypus refers to a species of platypus, not a species of duck-bill. It is not used because there is only one species of platypus.

"Koala bear" may occasionally appear in popular media but I would challenge anyone to produce a reliable source published in the last 50 years that calls this species that. Volume 5 of the Handbook of Mammals of the World (2015) begins its article with: "The Family Phascolarctidae is represented by a single genus and species, the Koala." No mention is made of "koala bear".

An encyclopedia has a responsibility to be accurate, not to mislead people. The current introduction is confusing and inaccurate. The best option for dealing with inacurate alternative names is in the body of the article. However, there is some obviously some ownership issues here, so I propose to edit the article by introducing the word "erroneously". Corythaeola (talk) 09:17, 1 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

There is nothing erroneous about a common name. It is just a name that is used by laypeople. It does not have to reflect scientific opinions. And nothing in the article claims that a koala actually is a bear, just that sometimes the name "koala bear" is used. Rlendog (talk) 17:21, 6 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The syntax leads people to believe that the koala is a bear. Corythaeola (talk) 11:39, 7 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The lede say that it is "sometimes called the koala bear" but that it "is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial." I am not seeing why it would lead anyone to believe that it is a bear. Rlendog (talk) 21:41, 7 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Because many people would only skim the article and only see the name, which is in bold text, either making or confirming that assumption. Corythaeola (talk) 08:18, 8 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Now let's start a campaign at silverfish which, egregiously, is neither silver, nor a fish. Doug butler (talk) 22:05, 7 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

What??!? I've been collecting them to melt down into an ingot! - UtherSRG (talk) 00:41, 8 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Happy to support your campaign. Be aware though that many Australian naturalists have worked for decades to have koala bear removed from our lexicon. Fortunately, they have largely succeeded. Corythaeola (talk) 08:21, 8 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Will you join my campaign to get rid of the outrageously biologically inaccurate "clothes horse", "pommel horse", "hobby horse", "seahorse", "Trojan horse", "iron horse", "sawhorse", and "brains of a donkey".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothes_horse

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pommel_horse

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby_horse

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seahorse

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_Horse

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_horse

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawhorse 92.233.152.13 (talk) 00:58, 17 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

A clothes horse isn't a horse, nor is a Trojan horse, an Iron horse, a Saw horse, a Hobby horse,, or a sea horse, The point being that Koala bear is called a koala bear in dictionaries etc the world over and it's not really wikippedia's purpose to right perceived "wrongs" of this nature. Hence, the article should just state that a koala is often called a koala bear and if "erroneously" or such like is to be included it should come after that: eg, a koala - sometimes called a koala bear (due to erroneous belief it was a bear, is a... As it stands the article reads like it was written by a first year biology student with a grudge at the world.

And, your comment was deleted by some other editor who decided the talk page wasn't an appropriate page for discussion.