🐾 Fauna of Bengal (বঙ্গের প্রাণী জগৎ)

The term “fauna” comes from Roman mythology and Latin origins.

🐾 Origin of the Term Fauna:

• The word “fauna” is derived from the name of Fauna, a Roman goddess associated with earth, fertility, and animals.
• She was the female counterpart of Faunus, the Roman god of the forest, fields, and wild creatures.
• Faunus himself was often identified with Pan, the Greek god of the wild, shepherds, and flocks.
• The mythological fauns (forest spirits), who were half-human, half-goat beings, are also part of this lineage and symbolized a close connection to nature and animal life.
• Linguistically, all these names — Fauna, Faunus, and Fauns — are cognates of the name Pan.
• In ancient Greek, the word “panis” is considered an equivalent of fauna, also relating to animals and wild nature.
• Over time, the term “fauna” came to refer generally to all animal life in a particular region.
• It is also used to describe scientific works or books that document and classify animals in a given area — for example, a fauna of Bengal would catalog all known animal species found in Bengal.