In my recent column on jacks and goatfish hunting together, I wrote that papio is the name for young jacks under 12 inches long.

Turns out that when it comes to calling a papio a papio, size matters, but only in weight. An anonymous reader emailed, "Papio is the name given to jacks under 10 lbs. Over 10 lbs. they are then called ulua. Length of fish don’t matter … FYI."

Kona author Jim Rizzuto agrees in his book "Fishing Hawaii Style." "Papio," he writes, "is the name for any ulua under 10 pounds."

I stand corrected.

It’s certainly not the first time I’ve been put straight on local names. During my classwork at UH-Manoa in the early ’80s, several fellow students who were also local anglers took pains to keep me from embarrassing myself. For instance, wana is the Hawaiian name for black, pokey sea urchins.

"Don’t ever say wah-na again, eh?" my lab partner said, smiling, as we examined one. "It’s va-na. Say it: VA-na."

I forget some fish names, and I sometimes mess up on the details, but I will always remember those guys fondly for teaching me with good humor.

The jack-goatfish column garnered another email with two Hawaiian names, he‘e and leho kiko, but these aren’t fish. He‘e is the term for octopus, and leho kiko is the tiger cowry snail.

Reader Bill Quinlan, a member of the North Shore Neighborhood Board, emailed that my jack-goatfish column brought back fond memories for him. During dives in Taiwan and elsewhere, he enjoyed seeing how well those two species "dance" together.

Bill also wanted me to know that he and several others disagree with a state House bill proposing that the serpent’s head, also called snake’s head, cowry be named Hawaii’s state shell. "The tiger cowry … leho kiko in Hawaiian," Bill wrote, "is the correct choice, as it is the shell that the ancient kupuna used to catch he‘e."

This decision is up to the governor now, because the bill declaring the serpent’s head cowry the state seashell passed the Legislature.

But there’s hope for opponents. Department of Land and Natural Resources Director William Aila, who will advise the governor, wrote in testimony that although the DLNR takes no position on the resolution, it offers this comment (paraphrased for space): Of Hawaii’s 35 cowry species, the serpent’s head cowry, Cyprea caputserpentis, is one of Hawaii and the Indo-Pacific’s most common. Eight Hawaii species, however, are endemic. "The Committee," Aila wrote, "may want to consider choosing one of the endemic species as the State Sea Shell to recognize its uniqueness to these islands."

My comment concerns the name. I don’t care which species is chosen to represent the state, or whether you spell it "cowrie" or "cowry." But please call these remarkable marine animals snails rather than seashells.

Snails are integral members of healthy reefs and should be recognized for more than their lovely skeletons. The Waikiki Aquarium, Maui Ocean Center and most other marine facilities call snails "snails" rather than "shells."

Names have power. "If names are not correct," Confucius wrote, "language will not be in accordance with the truth of things."

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Reach Susan Scott at www.susanscott.net.