Questions tagged [scientific-names]

For questions related to scientific names of species and other taxonomic uses of Latin.

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Taxonomic Latin Translation Dictionary [duplicate]

I can't remember where to find a taxonomic Latin dictionary. I have to do a creative writing assignment, and I have to come up with a myriad of homo sapiens [sapiens] successors, so I and need ...
rolodexter's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
48 views

How would you express "Russian bear" in Linnaeus species terminology?

I was trying to express "Russian bear" in scientific terms. Ursus would be the bear part of it. But I really couldn't figure out how to express Russia. List of mammals of Russia gave me no ...
Italian Philosophers 4 Monica's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
147 views

Genitive form for Phaeocystis

We have to create a scientific name for a virus that infects a particular alga: Phaeocystis globosa. The name 'phaeocystis globosa' is a feminine noun and an adjective. So, how to translate "...
alephreish's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
99 views

What does "arcularia" mean in the species name "Nassarius arcularia"?

I encountered the species name Nassarius arcularia and I'm very confused about its construction. Per Wikipedia, this name refers to a species of "nassa mud snails" or "dog whelks". ...
Asteroides's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
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What does "Turritopsis dohrnii" mean?

Turritopsis dohrnii is the binomial name of the immortal jellyfish. I know that those names are often only inspired by Latin and Greek so I was not wondering about the literal meaning but about the ...
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1 vote
0 answers
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Latin scientific phrase for during, outside, non and never intervention [closed]

What is a scientific way of saying, in Latin, During Intervention Outside of Intervention Never received Intervention. Missing Intervention. Thanks in advance.
Science11's user avatar
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9 votes
2 answers
452 views

What is the gender and singular declension of the scientific Latin suffix -idae?

The scientific suffix -idae is used to form names of subclasses of plants or families of animals, e.g. Bovidae. In scientific writing (in English and German), the resulting words are treated as plural ...
Lukas G's user avatar
  • 193
2 votes
1 answer
50 views

Correct formation of a fictitious scientific name

A few years ago, I asked for, and received help with, the construction of a fictitious name for a fictitious species. This question is similar. Again, I'm writing a story, this time involving locusts. ...
CrimsonDark's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
3k views

What's bigfoot in latin?

For a book (let's say on cryptozoology) I need to come up with a scientific name for bigfoot. I'm thinking of using a literal translation of bigfoot for the genus. As typical in scientific naming, the ...
Joooeey's user avatar
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4 votes
0 answers
56 views

Are the amynodontidae being slandered?

Wikipedia says that the name of this extinct family of rhino-like animals means "threatening tooth," referencing this page, but that page actually says "Greek: to ward off/threaten (...
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4 votes
1 answer
288 views

What's the meaning of onava?

This question is derived from another one posted in the Spanish Language site. In the original question OP was asking about the meaning of the word onava. We have not been able to find such word in ...
RubioRic's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
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What does the Latin name Vectaerovenator inopinatus of the new dinosaur mean?

I just saw in the news that a new dinosaur species was discovered and its scientific name is Vectaerovenator inopinatus. What exactly does this name actually mean as a Latin word? How should I parse ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
290 views

A good book on Scientific Latin?

May I request someone to suggest a good book on Scientific Latin? I am looking for a good book on Scientific Latin with emphasis on naming fauna and flora and the grammar of nomenclature. I would ...
Anuran's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
119 views

What does the f. adjective "tulda" mean?

In the scientific name Bambusa tulda, I would like to know what tulda (tuldus?) means.
Boris Stitnicky's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
298 views

Where does the word "thlypis"/θλυπις come from?

A number of New World warblers seem to have genus names that end in the element -thlypis. It's been hard for me to find information about the etymology of this element; I found a few sources on the ...
Asteroides's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
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Meaning of phellos in the epithet for Quercus phellos, the biological/scientific name for the willow oak?

What is the meaning of phellos in the epithet for Quercus phellos, the biological/scientific name for the willow oak? I've tried some obvious resources, but after 50 years in clinical medicine and ...
Michael Owen Sartin's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
548 views

Latin for "Teaching man"

How would you say "teaching man" in Latin, in the same way as "homo sapiens" (thinking man) or "homo economicus" (economic man)? It would be for an essay discussing modern education and the role of a ...
Andrew's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
282 views

On Julius Caesar and salmon

I saw a TV documentary today which claimed that salmon was named in Latin by Julius Caesar. It was a side remark, but the narrator elaborated that he saw this fish in Gaul and gave it its name due to ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
156 views

How can I construct a correctly formed fictitious-species name

I'm writing a story in which I want to use a correctly-formed, binomial (Genus species) Latin name for a fictitious species of vampire bat. I want the name to mean "teeth of death", or something very ...
CrimsonDark's user avatar
15 votes
2 answers
407 views

Can there be double diminutives in Latin?

I've been reading some Latin of the 17th and 18th centuries and am wondering if it is possible for there to be "double diminutives." As I understand it, the word "cerebellum" (Oxford Latin = "brain") ...
twoblackboxes's user avatar
27 votes
1 answer
4k views

Why hippopotamus instead of potamohippus?

Judging by this dictionary entry for hippopotamus, the Romans knew this animal and used the name we currently use in English. This word has an obviously Greek origin: hippos is a horse and potamos is ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
258 views

Did the Romans have a definition for a species of organism?

In today's taxonomy animals, plants and other organisms are organized in species. Defining a species is no simple task for modern biologists, but we have a fair understanding of what a species ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
110 views

Deriving lactuca from lac

The word lactuca refers to lettuce, and Lactuca sativa is the scientific name. Some of the plants in this genus seem to contain some kind of milky liquid which must be the reason for deriving the word ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
15 votes
3 answers
2k views

Is llama lama or glama?

I went to a zoo today, and I noticed that the scientific name of llama is Lama glama. It seems to me that both lama and glama are latinized versions of "llama". Why were two different versions of the ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
1k views

Beaver and Pollux?

Castor and Pollux are famous mythological twins. Castor is also the genus of beavers. This makes me wonder two things: Are these two Castors related in any way? Was this double meaning observed in ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
19 votes
2 answers
3k views

Examples of species whose Latin and scientific names are different

Biologists have given scientific names to many species, and these names are in Latin. A fraction of all named species was also known in ancient Rome (and medieval Europe), and they had a Latin name as ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar