Editing Binomial nomenclature (section)

==Derivation of binomial names==
{{see also|List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names}}

A complete binomial name is always treated grammatically as if it were a phrase in the Latin language (hence the common use of the term "Latin name" for a binomial name). However, the two parts of a binomial name can each be derived from a number of sources, of which Latin is only one. These include:
* Latin, from any period, whether [[Latin|classical]], [[Medieval Latin|medieval]] or [[Neo-Latin|modern]]. Thus, both parts of the binomial name {{lang|la|Homo sapiens}} are Latin words, meaning "wise" ({{lang|la|sapiens}}) "human/man" ({{lang|la|Homo}}).
* [[Ancient Greek|Classical Greek]]. The genus ''[[Rhododendron]]'' was named by [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] from the Greek word {{lang|grc|ῥοδόδενδρον}}, itself derived from ''rhodon'', "rose", and ''dendron'', "tree".<ref>{{OEtymD|rhododendron}}</ref><ref>{{LSJ|r(odo/dendron|ῥοδόδενδρον}}, {{LSJ|r(o/don|ῥόδον}}, {{LSJ|de/ndreon|δένδρον|ref}}.</ref> Greek words are often converted to a Latinized form. Thus coca (the plant from which cocaine is obtained) has the name ''[[Erythroxylum coca]]''. ''Erythroxylum'' is derived from the Greek words {{lang|grc-latn|erythros}}, red, and {{lang|grc-latn|xylon}}, wood.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hyam|Pankhurst|1995|p=182}}</ref> The Greek ending -{{lang|grc|ον}} (-on), when it is neuter, is often converted to the Latin neuter ending {{lang|la|-um}}.{{NoteTag|The ending "-on" may derive from the neuter Greek ending -{{lang|grc|ον}}, as in ''Rhodoxylon floridum'', or the masculine Greek ending -{{lang|grc|ων}}, as in ''Rhodochiton atrosanguineus''.}}
* Other languages. The second part of the name ''[[Erythroxylum coca]]'' is derived from {{lang|ay|kuka}}, the name of the plant in [[Aymara language|Aymara]] and [[Quechua languages|Quechua]].<ref>{{Ref Bertonio}}</ref><ref>{{Ref Laime}}</ref> Since many dinosaur fossils were found in Mongolia, their names often use [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] words, e.g. ''[[Tarchia]]'' from {{lang|mn|tarkhi}}, meaning "brain", or ''[[Saichania]]'' meaning "beautiful one".
* Names of people (often naturalists or biologists). The name ''[[Magnolia campbellii]]'' commemorates two people: [[Pierre Magnol]], a French botanist, and [[Arthur Campbell (doctor)|Archibald Campbell]], a doctor in [[British India]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Hyam|Pankhurst|1995|p=303}}</ref>
* Names of places. The lone star tick, ''[[Amblyomma americanum]]'', is widespread in the United States.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=James E. |last1=Childs |first2=Christopher D. |last2=Paddock |title=The ascendancy of ''Amblyomma americanum'' as a vector of pathogens affecting humans in the United States |journal=[[Annual Review of Entomology]] |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=307–337 |date=2003 |pmid=12414740 |doi=10.1146/annurev.ento.48.091801.112728 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1234969 |access-date=13 December 2019 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807030223/https://zenodo.org/record/1234969 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* Other sources. Some binomial names have been constructed from [[List of taxa named by anagrams|taxonomic anagram]]s or other re-orderings of existing names. Thus the name of the genus ''[[Muilla]]'' is derived by reversing the name ''[[Allium]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hyam|Pankhurst|1995|p=329}}</ref> Names may also be derived from [[jokes]] or [[pun]]s. For example, [[Neal Evenhuis]] described a number of species of flies in a genus he named ''[[Pieza]]'', including ''[[Pieza pi]]'', ''[[Pieza rhea]]'', ''[[Pieza kake]]'', and ''[[Pieza deresistans]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Evenhuis|first1=Neal L.|title=''Pieza'', a new genus of microbombyliids from the New World (Diptera: Mythicomyiidae)|journal=Zootaxa|date=2002|volume=36|issue=1|pages=1–28|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.36.1.1}}</ref>

The first part of the name, which identifies the genus, must be a word that can be treated as a Latin [[Grammatical number|singular]] noun in the [[nominative case]]. It must be unique within the purview of each [[nomenclatural code]], but can be repeated between them. Thus ''[[Huia (plant)|Huia recurvata]]'' is an extinct species of plant, found as [[fossil]]s in [[Yunnan]], China,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Geng |first=Bao-Yin |date=1985 |title=''Huia recurvata''&nbsp;– A New Plant from Lower Devonian of Southeastern Yunnan China |journal=Acta Botanica Sinica |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=419–426 |url=http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-ZWXB198504013.htm |access-date=7 February 2011 |language=zh, en |archive-date=7 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707014652/http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-ZWXB198504013.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> whereas ''[[Javan torrent frog|Huia masonii]]'' is a species of frog found in [[Java]], Indonesia.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Iskandar |first1=D. |last2=Mumpuni |first2=D. |date=2004 |title=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: ''Huia masonii'' |work=IUCNRedList.org |publisher=[[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] |url=http://iucnredlist.org/details/58303/0 |access-date=19 June 2011 |archive-date=26 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026102204/http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58303/0 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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The second part of the name, which identifies the species within the genus, is also treated grammatically as a Latin word. It can have one of a number of forms:
* The second part of a binomial may be an adjective. If so, the form of the adjective must agree with the genus name in [[grammatical gender|gender]]. Latin nouns can have three genders, masculine, feminine and neuter, and many Latin adjectives will have two or three different endings, depending upon the gender of the noun they refer to. The [[house sparrow]] has the binomial name {{lang|la|Passer domesticus}}. Here {{lang|la|domesticus}} ("domestic") simply means "associated with the house". The [[Nandina|sacred bamboo]] is {{lang|la|Nandina domestic<u>a</u>}}<ref>{{Harvnb|Hyam|Pankhurst|1995|p=334}}</ref> rather than {{lang|la|Nandina domestic<u>us</u>}}, since {{lang|la|Nandina}} is feminine whereas {{lang|la|Passer}} is masculine. The tropical fruit [[Lansium parasiticum|langsat]] is a product of the plant {{lang|la|Lansium parasitic<u>um</u>}}, since {{lang|la|Lansium}} is neuter. Some common endings for Latin adjectives in the three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) are {{lang|la|-us}}, {{lang|la|-a}}, {{lang|la|-um}} (as in the previous example of {{lang|la|domesticus}}); {{lang|la|-is}}, {{lang|la|-is}}, {{lang|la|-e}} (e.g., {{lang|la|tristis}}, meaning "sad"); and {{lang|la|-or}} {{lang|la|-or}} {{lang|la|-us}} (e.g., {{lang|la|minor}}, meaning "smaller"). For further information, see [[Latin declension#Adjectives|Latin declension: Adjectives]].
* The second part of a binomial may be a noun in the nominative case. An example is the binomial name of the lion, which is {{lang|la|Panthera leo}}. Grammatically the noun is said to be in [[apposition]] to the genus name and the two nouns do not have to agree in gender; in this case, {{lang|la|Panthera}} is feminine and {{lang|la|leo}} is masculine.
[[File:Talauma hodgsonii.jpg|thumb|''[[Magnolia hodgsonii]]'']]
* The second part of a binomial may be a noun in the [[genitive case|genitive]] (possessive) case. The genitive case is constructed in a number of ways in Latin, depending on the [[Latin declension|declension]] of the noun. Common endings for masculine and neuter nouns are {{lang|la|-ii}} or {{lang|la|-i}} in the singular and {{lang|la|-orum}} in the plural, and for feminine nouns {{lang|la|-ae}} in the singular and {{lang|la|-arum}} in the plural. The noun may be part of a person's name, often the surname, as in the [[Tibetan antelope]] ({{lang|la|Pantholops hodgsonii}}), the shrub {{lang|la|[[Magnolia hodgsonii]]}}, or the [[olive-backed pipit]] ({{lang|la|Anthus hodgsoni}}). The meaning is "of the person named", so {{lang|la|Magnolia hodgsonii}} means "Hodgson's magnolia". The {{lang|la|-ii}} or {{lang|la|-i}} endings show that in each case Hodgson was a man (not the same one); had Hodgson been a woman, {{lang|la|hodgsonae}} would have been used. The person commemorated in the binomial name is not usually (if ever) the person who created the name; for example, {{lang|la|Anthus hodgsoni}} was named by [[Charles Wallace Richmond]], in honour of Hodgson. Rather than a person, the noun may be related to a place, as with {{lang|la|[[Latimeria chalumnae]]}}, meaning "of the [[Chalumna River]]". Another use of genitive nouns is in, for example, the name of the bacterium {{lang|la|[[Escherichia coli]]}}, where {{lang|la|coli}} means "of the [[colon (anatomy)|colon]]". This formation is common in parasites, as in {{lang|la|[[Xenos vesparum]]}}, where {{lang|la|vesparum}} means "of the wasps", since {{lang|la|Xenos vesparum}} is a parasite of wasps.

Whereas the first part of a binomial name must be unique within the purview of each nomenclatural code, the second part is quite commonly used in two or more genera (as is shown by examples of ''hodgsonii'' above), but cannot be used more than once within a single genus. The full binomial name must be unique within each code.