X-Nico

unusual facts about specific name



Acheroraptor

The specific name honours James and Louise Temerty, the chairman of Northland Power and the ROM Board of Governors and his wife, who have supported the museum for many years.

Ajancingenia

The name "Ingenia" derives from the Ingen Khoboor Depression of Bayankhongor Province, Mongolia, from whence it was collected, while the specific name yanshini was chosen in honour of academician Aleksandr Leonidovich Yanshin (1911–1999), who was adviser and mentor to Rinchen Barsbold during his time at the Paleontological Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Amphiesma pealii

The specific name, pealii, is in honor of "Mr. S.E. Peal", who collected the two specimens from which British zoologist William Lutley Sclater described this snake as a species new to science.

Butler's garter snake

The specific name, butleri, is in honor of "Mr. A.W. Butler" of Brookville, Indiana.

Cachiyacuy

The specific name of the type species is named after the geographical provenance of the specimens, close to the city of Contamana.

Cecina manchurica

The specific name manchurica refers to Manchuria, the historical region where its type locality was situated.

Chytra kirki

The specific name kirki is in honor of explorer John Kirk (1832-1922), who has donated various other specimen of snails (not this species) to the Natural History Museum.

Cryonectes

The specific name is derived from the Frank kingdom of Neustrie which covered northwest France, created after the death of Clovis I.

Cuspicephalus

The specific name honors artist and cartoonist Gerald Scarfe for his vicious caricatures which mostly have very pointy noses.

Cyrtophora parangexanthematica

The specific name "parangexanthematica" literally means 'like exanthematica' in Filipino, referring to their close resemblance to double-tailed tent spiders (Cyrtophora exanthematica).

Darwin's Rhea

The specific name was bestowed in 1834 by Darwin's contemporary and rival Alcide d'Orbigny who first described the bird to Europeans, from a specimen from the lower Río Negro south of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Delias meeki

The specific name commemorates English naturalist Albert Stewart Meek who collected the type series in May 1903 at Owgarra north of head of the Aroa River in Papua New Guinea.

Dorygnathus

The first remains of Dorygnathus, isolated bones and jaw fragments from the Schwarzjura, the Posidonia Shale dating from the Toarcian, were discovered near Banz, Bavaria and in 1830 described by Carl Theodori as Ornithocephalus banthensis, the specific name referring to Banz.

Dubreuillosaurus

The specific name referred to the nearby ancient battlefield of the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes, where William the Conqueror had in 1046 defeated his enemies.

Emausaurus

The specific name is derived from the name of geologist Werner Ernst, who found the fossil, holotype SGWG 85, in the summer of 1963 at a loampit near Grimmen, in strata dating from the Toarcian.

Entovalva nhatrangensis

It was first described in 2010 and its specific name "nhatrangensis" derives from the locality where it was originally found, Nha Trang Bay in Vietnam.

Giant forest hog

The specific name honours Richard Meinertzhagen, who shot the type specimen in Kenya and had it shipped to the Natural History Museum in England.

Ginkgo cranei

The chosen specific name cranei was in honor of Sir Peter Crane who, with Steven Manchester and David Dilcher, first discovered the Almont Ginkgo fossils.

Guaibasaurus

The specific name is named after Candelária, a city near the fossil locality in which the holotype was found.

Kenyasaurus

The specific name is derived from the name of the type locality of the genus, Mariakani.

Longchengpterus

The specific name honours Zhao Dayu, the president of Shenyang Normal University and a contributor to the founding of the Western Liaoning Institute of Mesozoic Paleontology.

Megacyllene robiniae

The specific name, robiniae, is derived from the New Latin name, Robinia, which is the generic name of the black locust tree, Robinia pseudacacia, on which the larvae feed.

Nanyangosaurus

The specific name honours one of the most famous historic inhabitants of that city, the legendary strategist Zhuge Liang.

Nedcolbertia

The specific name honoured Justin Hofmann, a six year-old school boy from Newton, New Jersey, a participant of a contest for children by Discover Card, the winner having a dinosaur named after him.

Oiceoptoma noveboracense

Oiceoptoma noveboracense's Latin specific name means "pertaining to New York" (Latin Novum Eboracum + -ensis), referring to the original source of the type specimen.

Paludiscala de oro snail

Its specific name is from a Spanish exclamation expressing surprise: "caramba".

Polemon leopoldi

The specific name or epithet, leopoldi, is in honor of Leopold III, King of the Belgians.

Rhinotyphlops schinzi

The specific name, schinzi, is in honor of "Herr Dr. Hans Schinz", who collected the first specimens in 1884 & 1885 in the Kalahari Desert.

Ryukyu Robin

The specific name komadori is, somewhat confusingly, the common name of its relative the Japanese Robin in Japanese.

Tichosteus

The specific name honours superintendent of public schools Oramel W. Lucas, who collected two vertebrae for Cope, near Arkansas River.

Trimeresurus karanshahi

The specific name, karanshahi, is in honor of Mr. Karan Bahadur Shah, Professor of Herpetology and Mammalogy at Tribhuvan University in Nepal.

Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus andersoni

The specific name, andersonii, is in honor of Scottish zoologist John Anderson, who worked in India 1864-1886 and was the first curator of the Indian Museum in Calcutta (now called Kolkata).

Tylomelania palicolarum

The specific name palicolarum is according to the Latin words "pile" that means "pile" and Latin word "colus".

Xenocalamus mechowii

The specific name or epithet, mechowii, is in honor of Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander von Mechow, a Silesian-German explorer of Africa.


see also

Agapanthia cardui

They are polyphagous in herbaceous plants, mainly feeding on Carduus nutans (hence the specific name) and Silybum marianum, as well as on Salvia, Urtica and Cirsium species.

Agrionympha pseudovari

The specific name conveys the superficial similarity of this species to Agrionympha vari.

Antrorbis breweri

The specific name breweri is in honor of Dr. Stephen Brewer, the owner of Manitou Cave.

Bluespotted trevally

In the original volume of Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales in which the species was described, the specific name is spelled as bucculantus in the legend, but is considered to be a typographical error and ignored.

Borealosuchus

The specific name is a reference to Exit 3 of the New Jersey Turnpike, which is the closest highway exit to the type locality.

Bromus madritensis

It is native to Europe (the specific name madritensis refers to Madrid, Spain) but it has been widely introduced elsewhere, such as North America, where it is found in many areas.

Brusqeulia tineimorpha

The specific name refers to its external similarity to a tineid moth.

Bulimulus guadalupensis

The specific name guadalupensis refers to the West Indian island of Guadeloupe.

Cameraria diabloensis

The specific name is derived from the type-locality (Mount Diablo) and the Latin

Cameraria jacintoensis

The specific name is derived from the type-locality (Mount San Jacinto) and the Latin suffix -ensis (denoting place, locality).

Cameraria temblorensis

The specific name is derived from the type-locality (Temblor Range) and the Latin suffix -ensis (denoting place, locality).

Carinotrachia admirale

The specific name admirale refers to Admiralty Gulf which is next to the islands where this species lives.

Coleophora neolycii

The specific name is derived from the Greek prefix neo- (meaning new) and the specific name lycii, in reference to its relationship with Coleophora lycii.

Coleophora paragallivora

The specific name is derived from the Latin para (meaning equal, like) and gallivora, referring to the close affinity with Coleophora gallivora, especially in the structure of the male genitalia.

Crocidura sapaensis

It was first described in 2013 and its specific name derives from the Sa Pa District where it was discovered.

Damalborea

According to Gentry (2010), the generic name "indicates an alcelaphine of the north" (differentiating it from Damalacra, the fossils of which were discovered near the Cape of Good Hope), while the specific name honors Elisabeth Vrba.

Echoes in a Shallow Bay

The Great Spangled Fritillary is a butterfly and while there is no Pale Clouded White there is a Pale Clouded Yellow (as well as several groups of butterflies commonly known as Whites), while Mellonella is the specific name of the Wax Moth Galleria mellonella.

Edward Arthur Butler

He is commemorated in the scientific specific name for Hume's Owl, Strix butleri.

Endotricha simipunicea

The specific name is derived from the Latin simi- (meaning similar) and punicea the name of Endotricha punicea and refers to the similarity of the two species.

Eostrobilops hirasei

The specific name is apparently in honor either of the Japanese malacologist Yoichiro Hirase (1859–1925) or of his son Shintaro Hirase (1884–1939).

Eucosmophora manilkarae

The specific name is derived from the generic name, Manilkara, one of two principal larval hosts.

Eucosmophora pouteriae

The specific name is derived from the generic name, Pouteria, of the only recorded larval host.

Gabbiella stanleyi

The specific name stanleyi is in honor of explorer Henry Morton Stanley.

Gastrocopta iheringi

The specific name iheringi is in honor of the zoologist Hermann von Ihering, who collected the type specimen.

Geina integumentum

The specific name "integumentum" refers to a "cover" over the ostium of the female.

Gyraulus bekaensis

The specific name bekaensis is named after the Beqaa Governorate, where it occurs.

Hypatopa cotytto

The specific name refers to Cotytto, the goddess of unchastity, originally worshipped in Thrace.

Longipenis paradeltidius

The specific name is derived from Latin para (meaning next to or near) and refers to similarity between this species and Longipenis deltidius.

Maesiella maesae

The generic name Maesiella as well as the specific name maesae are named in honor of American malacologist Virginia Orr Maes.

Megabalanus

Surprisingly, the specific name tintinnabulum does not refer to The Adventures of Tintin character Captain Haddock, whose catchphrase was "Blistering barnacles"; it was designated by 18th century taxonomist Linnaeus and refers to the animal's shape — a tintinnabulum is a handbell .

Phyllodesmium parangatum

The specific name parangatum refers to words "parang gatas" from Filipino language, that points to its milky color.

Pigritia dido

The specific name refers to Dido, founder of Carthage, daughter of Belus of Tyre, and sister of Pygmalion.

Pirate perch

The specific name sayanus is a tribute to naturalist Thomas Say.

Puerto Rico Upland Gecko

The epithet or specific name, klauberi, is in honor of herpetologist Laurence Monroe Klauber.

Pythia cecillei

The specific name cecillei is in honor of the French admiral Jean-Baptiste Cécille.

Red-breasted Parakeet

The scientific specific name commemorates Alexander the Great whose armies introduced eastern parakeets to Greece.

Reseda minoica

The specific name is given after the Minoan civilisation, which flourished during the Bronze Age in Crete, and whose cultural influences spread to Cyprus, Anatolia and the Levantine coast.

Savignia naniplopi

The specific name is a Latin rendering of "Plop the gnome", a reference to the Belgian children's TV character Kabouter Plop.

Shemini Atzeret

The Jewish Encyclopedia states that during the time of the Second Temple, the festival of Shavuot received the specific name of "'Aẓarta" as cited by Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews (iii. 10, § 6) and in the Talmud's tractate Pesahim (42b, 68b), signifying "the closing feast" of Passover.

Shokawa

The generic name refers to the village of Shokawa, located in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, while the specific name honors the collector of the first specimen, one Mr. Ikoi Shibata.

Spea hammondii

The epithet or specific name, hammondi, is in honor of amateur naturalist General William Alexander Hammond, M.D.

Sulu Sea

According to Sulu actor George Takei, "Gene Roddenberry's vision for Sulu was to represent all of Asia, being named for the Sulu Sea instead of using a specific country-specific name".

Termitotrox cupido

The specific name "cupido" comes from the resemblance of the trichomes to the wings of Cupid, the child god from Greek mythology.

Vinous-throated Parrotbill

The specific name webbiana commemorates the English botanist Philip Barker Webb.

VUB night frog

Both the specific name, "vrijeuni", and the acronym in the common name, "VUB", refer to Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Free University of Brussels.

Xenophrys lekaguli

The specific name commemorates Thai zoologist and conservationist Dr Boonsong Lekagul.