Scientific Nomenclature

Q: How do you create genus and species names?

THE RULES OF NAME CREATION:

THE BASICS

• Binomina are written in a certain way.

• They are usually italicized (or stand out on the page in another way).

• The Genus is Capitalized but the species name is not.

  • Ex. Homo sapiens or Canis lupus baileyi

• Usually, full name in the first use of a publication, then abbreviated.

  • Ex. Canis lupus baileyi vs. C. l. baileyi

THE RULES OF NAME CREATION: GENUS NAMES

• The genus name will be a noun.

• This noun can be:

  1) a Latin word

  2) a Greek word altered to fit Latin grammar

  3) a word made up from Greek and Latin roots and combining forms

  4) a modern word, usually transformed into a Latin form

Examples:

• 1) a Latin word

• Canis, from Latin “dog” (m.)

• 2) a Greek word altered to fit Latin grammar

• Panthera, from Greek “πάνθηρ”

• > Latin panthera (f.) “a big cat”

• 3) a word made up from Greek and Latin roots and combining forms

• Deiroptyx, from Greek {deir(o)} “neck” + {ptyx} “fold”

• 4) a modern word, usually transformed into a Latin form

• Magnolia campbellii < Pierre Magnol (botanist) and Archibald Campbell (doctor)

How do you make proper genera out of people’s names?

• Latinize the name.

• Genus names formed from personal names are always treated as grammatically feminine, which means they will usually end in an –a.

For names that end in consonants, add -ia:

• Jimenez > Jimenezia

For names that end in vowels (except –a) add –a:

• Hoile > Hoilea

For names that end in “-a,” add –ia:

• Garza > Garzaia

THE RULES OF NAME CREATION: SPECIES NAMES

• Think of species names as epithets, there to add greater clarity to the genus.

• To do so, these species names follow the rules of Latin nouns and adjectives.

• Latin likes to put descriptors after the nouns they modify.

  • In English we might say, “cute cat,” but in Latin we’d say, “cat cute.”

• Remember: a genus is a noun.

• In Latin, a noun can be descriptively modified by four kinds of words:

  • Adjective

  • Participle (present or past)

  • Noun in apposition to the genus

  • Noun in the genitive case

ADJECTIVES AND PARTICIPLES

• Latin nouns are one of three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.

• Adjectives and participles must agree in gender with their nouns.

• That is, adjectives and participles may need to change their form depending on the gender of the genus.

  • Ex. puer bonus = good boy vs. puella bona = good girl

Very often, our epithets will be based on color or appearance.

• Ex. Felis concolor (cougar) = one-colored [concolor] cat [Felis]

Ex. Crotalus adamanteus (a diamondback rattlesnake) = diamond[y] [adamanteus] rattle [Crotalus].

Participles are just adjectives made from verbs:

• Ex. Present participles

• Breaking (from break) - a breaking heart.

• Baking (from bake) - the baking cookies

• Ex. Past participles

• Broken (from break) - a broken heart

• Baked (from bake) - the baked cookies

Latin participles are often used as epithets.

• Ex. Lycaon pictus = painted wolf (African wild dog)

Latin participles are often used as epithets.

• Ex. Canis latrans = barking dog (coyote)

Nouns that follow other nouns and describe them are called appositives:

• Ex. My dad, the dancer...

• Species epithets or names can also be appositives:

• Ex. Panthera leo (lion) = Big cat [Panthera] a lion [leo]

• Latin has special forms of nouns called genitives

• The genitive of a noun means OF or ’s = possession.

Ex. taurus -“bull”

• genitive = tauri, “of a bull,” or “belonging to a bull.”

When genitives are used for species, they often are seen in cases of naming species after people OR to indicate the places they inhabit.

• Ex. Callipepla gambelii = “Gambel’s Quail”

When genitives are used for species, they often are seen in cases of naming species after people OR to indicate the places they inhabit.

• Ex. Cyrtonyx montezumae = “Montezuma’s Quail”

Note:

• Callipepla gambelii = “Gambel’s Quail”

• Cyrtonyx montezumae = “Montezuma’s Quail”

• To name a species after a masculine name, -i is added to the name.

• To name a species after a feminine name, -ae is added to the name.

Remember: a unit of biological classification is called a taxon (plural: taxa).

• A genus is a taxon; so is a species.

• Smaller than a species?

• For animals: a sub-species!

• For plants: subspecies, variety, subvariety, forma, or subforma.

THE RULES OF NAME CREATION: TAXA SMALLER THAN SPECIES?

• What does this mean?

• Many organisms have a trinomen (plural: trinomina) or trinomial.

• Ex. Canis lupus familiaris = domestic dog (but canis lupus = grey wolf!)

• Ex. Homo sapiens sapiens = only living members of Homo sapiens

NEW GREEK AND LATIN MORPHEMES

NEW GREEK MORPHEMES

• {ethn(o)} = race or nation of people (ethnography)

• {hor(o)} = hour, time (horologist)

• {ichchy(o)} = fish

• {hippo(o)} = horse

• {parthen(o)} = virgin

• {phag(o) = eat

• {pus/pod} = foot

• {sapr(o)} = rotten (saprophagous, saprophyte)

• {rhiz(o)} = root (rhizotomy, rhizome, rhizophagous)

• {frug(i)/fruct(i)} = fruit (frugivore, frugiferous, fructiferous)

• {asin} = donkey (asinine, asininity)

• {can} = dog (canine, canid)

• {leon} = leon (leonine)

NEW LATIN MORPHEMES

• {fuge} = drive away, flee

  • (centrifuge) ex centrifugal force —> out from the center

• {herb(i)} = grass

  • (herbicide, herbivore, herbiferous) cide=kill

• {insect(i)} = insect

  • (insecticide, insectivore)

• {magn(i)} = big

  • (magnify, magnificent)

• {omn(i)} = all, every

  • (omnivore, omnipotent, omniscient)

  • eat everything

  • …

  • knowing of everything

• {pest(i)} = troublesome animal or plant

  • (pesticide, pestiferous)

• {pisc(i)} = fish

  • (piscivorous, pisciform, pescatarian, piscatorian)

• {ran(i)} = frog

  • (ranivorous, raniform, ranine, ranula)

• {su(i)} = self

  • (suisection, sui generis, sui juris)

• {verm(i)} = worm

  • (vermicide, vermifuge, vermin)

• {vor/vore} = eating (omnivore, carnivore, herbivore, piscivore, detritivore)

• {ag/act} = do (actor, agent, agile)

• {frang/fract} = break

  • (fracture, frangible)

• {grav} = heavy = serious = pregnant

  • (gravity) (grave) (gravid)

• {host} = enemy

  • (hostile, hostility)

• {neglig/neglect} = disregard

  • (neglect, negligent)

• {sap/sip} = taste

  • insipid: stupid remark remark that has no taste,

  • sapid:

• {radic} = root

• eradicate: get rid of the whole thing from the root

• radical: change that goes to the root, radical change, dramatic,

1) radical change = down to the roots, thorough;

2) a radical = an extremist, one who wants complete change

(Greek synonym of {radic}?)

LITERAL VS. FIGURATIVE

• A word is literal when it expresses its etymological meaning; it is figurative when it does not.

Literal: The root of the plant is a literal use of the word.

Figurative: The root of the problem.

BUT LITERALLY?

• In its standard use, literally means ‘in a literal sense, as opposed to a nonliteral or exaggerated sense’ (OED).

  • Ex. I told him I never wanted to see him again, but I didn’t expect him to take it literally!

• In recent years, a new common use: literally (or literal) is used deliberately in nonliteral contexts, for added effect.

  • Ex. They bought the car and literally ran it into the ground

  • Ex. We were literally killing ourselves laughing!