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unusual facts about specific epithet


Specific epithet

A specific epithet is the second part of a scientific name in Binomial nomenclature.


Atractaspis leucomelas

The specific epithet, leucomelas, is derived from New Latin leuco ("white") and Greek μέλας (melas,"black"), and refers to this snake's "white and black" coloration.

Betta persephone

This betta's specific epithet derives from the Greek goddess Persephone, queen of the Underworld, a reference to the largely blackish colouration of this fish.

Boletus zelleri

The specific epithet zelleri was chosen by Murrill to honor Professor Sanford Myron Zeller, mycologist at Oregon State University.

Broadfin sawtail catshark

This shark was formally described as a new species in a 1975 volume of the scientific journal Memoirs of the Faculty of Fisheries, Hokkaido University by Kazuhiro Nakaya, who gave it the specific epithet nipponensis from Nippon (Japan).

Checkered garter snake

The specific epithet, marcianus, is in honor of American Brigadier General Randolph B. Marcy, who led surveying expeditions to the frontier areas in the mid 19th century.

Common stingaree

Based on the drawing, German biologists Johannes Müller and Jakob Henle described the species in their 1839–41 Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen, creating for it the new genus Trygonoptera and giving it the specific epithet testacea, derived from the Latin word for "brick-colored".

Cortinarius vanduzerensis

A common name for the species is the "pointed Cortinarius", while the specific epithet vanduzerensis refers to the H.B. van Duzer Forest where the species was originally collected.

Ctenocheloides

The genus name reflects the close relationship of the genus to Ctenocheles, while the specific epithet "attenboroughi" commemorates the British natural history broadcaster David Attenborough.

Cyathea macarthurii

The specific epithet honours Sir William Macarthur (1800–1882), horticulturalist, botanist and vigneron in New South Wales, who did much to establish an Australian wine industry.

Daphne tangutica

The Latin specific epithet tangutica derives from an historical tribe of what is now north western China, but has been a synonym for Tibet, part of the plant's native range.

Eunephrops cadenasi

The specific epithet cadenasi commemorates José Manuel Cadenas y Aguilera, Rector of the University of Havana.

Habenaria plantaginea

The specific epithet plantaginea may have originated from the plant's resemblance to the genus Plantago.

Haidoterminus

The specific epithet cippus, from the Latin for "tombstone or pillar", references the clypeal pads' distinct columnar appearance.

Hygrophorus bakerensis

The specific epithet bakerensis refers to Mount Baker, a volcano in the North Cascades of Washington State in the United States, where the mushroom was first collected.

Jasus lalandii

It is not known whom the specific epithet lalandii commemorates, although it may be the French astronomer Jérôme Lalande.

Kalkadoon Grasswren

The specific epithet ballarae refers to the deserted mining town of Ballara, in north-western Queensland between Mount Isa and Cloncurry.

Minotaurasaurus

The generic name is explained by the describers as meaning "man-bull reptile"; the specific epithet honours Vilayanur S. Ramachandran who purchased the fossil for $10,000 from the trader Hollis Butts, based in Japan, and made it available to science.

Mouse catshark

Norwegian zoologist Robert Collett originally described the mouse catshark as Pristiurus murinus, in a 1904 issue of the scientific journal Forhandlinger i Videnskabs-selskabet i Christiania; its specific epithet means "relating to a mouse" in Latin.

Nepenthes kerrii

The specific epithet kerrii refers to Irish medical doctor Arthur Francis George Kerr, who made the first known herbarium collection of this species.

Ordralfabetix

The etymology of the specific epithet sirophatanis is a combination of two proto-Celtic word cores, "siro" which translates to "long" and "phatano" meaning "wing".

Prostylotermes

The specific epithet kamboja is in reference to the Kamboja tribe of ancient India literature who settled the area now called Khambat and formerly called Cambay.

Quercus havardii

The specific epithet honors U.S. Army surgeon and botanist Valery Havard, who contributed much to the knowledge of southwestern plants.

Spongiforma squarepantsii

The genus name Spongiforma refers to the sponge-like nature of the fruit body, while the specific epithet squarepantsii denotes the resemblance to the well-known cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants.

Stout-legged Wren

The specific epithet honours Dr John Yaldwyn, Director of the National Museum of New Zealand in Wellington, in recognition of his contributions to avian palaeontology.

Subgenus

In zoology, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the generic name and the specific epithet: e.g. the Tiger Cowry of the Indo-Pacific, Cypraea (Cypraea) tigris Linnaeus, which belongs to the subgenus Cypraea of the genus Cypraea.

Sunda Bulbul

Either way, the specific epithet virescens, given to the present species by Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1825, pre-dates the same name as given to the Nicobar Bulbul by Edward Blyth in 1845, and thus the latter species is sometimes referred to as H. nicobarensis (though correctly it would be Ixos nicobariensis).

Tuber donnagotto

The specific epithet donnagotto refers to the names of the Lagotto Romagnolo dogs ("Donna" and "Gotta") that found the truffles.

Urnula craterium

The genus name means "little urn"; the specific epithet is derived from the Latin cratera, referring to a type of bowl used in antiquity to mix wine with water.

Viburnum farreri

The Latin specific epithet farreri commemorates the English plant collector Reginald Farrer.

Wessiea

The specific epithet yakimaensis, is a reference to the type locality in the Yakima Canyon.


see also

Banksia croajingolensis

The specific epithet is from Croajingolong, an English corruption of Krowathunkoolong, the Gunai name for the region in which the species occurs; and -ensis, a Latin suffix meaning "originating from".

Banksia pellaeifolia

As there was already a plant named Banksia blechnifolia, Mast and Thiele had to choose a new specific epithet; their choice, "pellaeifolia", is from Pellaea, a genus of ferns with pinnate leaves, and the Latin folium ("leaf"), in reference to the species' fern-like leaves.

Banksia rufa

As the name Banksia ferruginea had already been published in reference to the plant now known as Pimelea ferruginea, Mast and Thiele had to choose a new specific epithet; their choice, "rufa", is from the Latin rufus ("reddish"), in references to the red-brown colour of new growth and the involucral bracts.

Blastobasis achaea

The specific epithet is derived from the Roman province of Achaea, which included the whole of Greece, except Thessaly.

Carl Lebrecht Udo Dammer

Dammeri is a specific epithet that refers to Carl Lebrecht Udo Dammer

Cobaea pringlei

The specific epithet, pringlei, honours Cyrus Guernsey Pringle (1838–1911), an American botanist, explorer and plant breeder.

Coregonus hoyi

The specific epithet of the bloater is given after Dr. P. R. Hoy of Racine, Wisconsin.

Corybas aconitiflorus

The specific epithet aconitiflorus means "with a flower like Aconitum (monkshood)".

Cyathea archboldii

The specific epithet archboldii is thought to commemorate Richard Archbold (1907-1976), an internationally known explorer and heir to the Standard Oil Company.

Cyathea delgadii

The specific epithet delgadii refers to Gancho do Generale Delgado, along the road to Caldas Novas, Brazil, where the type material was collected.

Cyathea hornei

The specific epithet hornei commemorates botanist John Horne (1835-1905), who collected numerous plants on Fiji and islands of the Indian Ocean.

Cyathea junghuhniana

The specific epithet junghuhniana commemorates German botanist Friedrich Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn (1809-1864), who collected numerous plants on Java and Sumatra.

Dammeri

Dammeri is a specific epithet that refers to Carl Lebrecht Udo Dammer.

Draculoides

A second species was described 1995, Draculoides bramstokeri, based on specimens found at Barrow Island, Western Australia; the specific epithet honours Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula.

Eucalantica pumila

The specific epithet is derived from the Latin pumilus (meaning little) and refers to its small size relative to other Eucalantica species.

Friedrich Ernst Leibold

Plants with the specific epithet of leiboldiana are named after him, an example being Tillandsia leiboldiana.

Guettarda speciosa

The genus was named in honour of the 18th century French naturalist Jean-Étienne Guettard, while the specific epithet is derived from the Latin speciosus 'showy'.

Heptacodium miconioides

The specific epithet miconioides alludes to the similarities of the plant to the unrelated Meadow Beauty genus, Miconia.

Homoranthus wilhelmii

The specific epithet commemorates Carl Wilhelmi, a collector of seeds and specimens of the region, who obtained the type collection at Port Lincoln in November of 1854.

Kunzea ericifolia

The species was first described by Gustav Heynhold, the specific epithet referring to leaves, folium, that resemble the heath family, erica in Latin.

Micrantheum ericoides

The specific epithet ericoides refers to a similarity to the European heath, or Erica.

Murray River turtle

The specific epithet of the species refers to the turtle's type location: the Macquarie River, it would seem the species was not named after Governor Lachlan Macquarie for whom the river is also named.

Niue Night Heron

The specific epithet comes from the Niuean words kalavi (land crab) and kai (food), alluding to speculation by the describers that land crabs constituted an important part of the species' diet.

Ornithoptera croesus

The specific epithet of Ornithoptera croesus, is named after Croesus, the king of Lydia from 560 to 547 BC.

Penang betta

Cantor originally described the Penang betta as Macropodus pugnax, classifying it alongside the paradise fish (M. opercularis); its specific epithet, pugnax, is Latin for "fighting".

Rankin's dragon

The specific epithet is a reference to the Australian author Henry Lawson.

Rhododendron lochiae

Rhododendron lochiae was first described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1887 who gave it the specific epithet lochae in honour of Lady Loch, a patron of horticulture in Australia and wife of the Governor of Victoria .

Rubus pubescens

They differ from larger shrubby species in the genus in that the only upright part is herbaceous and only lightly speckled with fine hairs (hence the specific epithet "pubescens"), as opposed to the woody stems and larger prickles that cover many other species of Rubus (Johnson et al. 1999).

Salvia coriana

The specific epithet honors Jean Coria (1926-2008), a longtime Salvia grower who was associated with the San Francisco Botanical Garden.

Thousand Palms desert snail

Its specific epithet and the common name refer to Thousand Palms, California.

Thymallus yaluensis

The specific epithet, yaluensis, derives from the name of the Yalu River on the North Korean–Chinese border.

William Schaus

The genera Schausia and Schausiana were named in his honor, as well as numerous species with the specific epithet schausi .

Xerocomellus chrysenteron

This binomial was generally accepted for almost another hundred years, until 1985 when Marcel Bon decided to resurrect the former specific epithet communis, which resulted in the binomial Xerocomus communis.