List of short species names

Living organisms are known by scientific names. These binomial names can vary greatly in length, and some can be very short; genus or species names composed of only one letter are not allowed by any of the nomenclature codes, but any combination of two letters and above can be valid if it has not been previously used. This list of shortest species names lists the scientific binomials with the fewest letters.[1] The longest scientific species names can be found in the List of long species names.

4 letters

edit
 
Restoration of Yi qi (4 letters)
  • Ia io Thomas, 1902 – Family Vespertilionidae. The great evening bat is the largest vespertilionid bat, reaching a wingspan of just over half a metre. It occurs in tropical Asia where it lives in limestone caves. Apart from being the shortest scientific name of a living organism (and one of the shortest possible, since anything below 4 letters would not be allowed), it also has the peculiarity of being composed only of vowels. The genus Ia (ἰά) is an ancient Greek term for 'voice', 'cry' or 'shout';[2][3] the specific name has commonly been assumed to refer to Io, a woman of classical mythology, viewed as "flighty;"[4][5] but chiropterologist Thomas Griffiths has theorised that it is instead to be understood as the Latin interjection ĭō, meaning 'an exclamation of joy', and that therefore the corect English translation of the binomial would be 'Shout hurrah!'; Griffiths bolsters this argument by pointing out that Oldfield Thomas subsequently named another two species with the same word (Rhogeessa io and Balantiopteryx io), thus creating a succession of "three hurrahs", and proposes that this would be Thomas's way of celebrating his induction into the Royal Society in 1901, despite having no formal training.[6]
  • Yi qi Xu et al., 2015 – Family Scansoriopterygidae. This was a Jurassic theropod dinosaur that had an elongated finger which supported a patagium, akin to those of bats, which enabled the animal to glide between trees. The name is derived from Mandarin Chinese (翼 yì and 奇 qí, pronounced "ee chee"), meaning "strange wing".[7]

5 letters

edit
 
Drawing of Foa fo (5 letters)

6 letters

edit
 
Skull of Beg tse (6 letters)
 
Loa loa (6 letters)
 
Original illustration of Tor tor (6 letters)

7 letters

edit
 
Betta pi (7 letters)
 
Copa kei (7 letters)
 
Doto kya (7 letters)
 
Pine engraver beetle, Ips pini (7 letters)
 
Restoration of juvenile Mei long (7 letters)
 
Mini mum (7 letters)
 
Pao abei (7 letters)
 
Silver tussock or wī, Poa cita (7 letters)

Notes

edit
  1. ^ However, "πιεζοσ" is not a Greek word; this must be the result of a misreading. The Ancient Greek verb is πιέζω.

References

edit
  1. ^ "What is the longest scientific name?". Life of a Botanist ... is not only a bed of roses. Archived from the original on 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  2. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (August 20, 1878). "A Lexicon Abridged from Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon". Harper & brothers. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Schrevel, Cornelis (August 20, 1831). "Schrevelius' Greek Lexicon: Translated Into English, with Many New Words Added, for the Use of Schools; to which is Added a Copious English and Greek Lexicon, Intended to Assist the Learner in Greek Composition". Baldwin. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Srinivasulu, Chelmala (September 3, 2018). South Asian Mammals: An updated Checklist and Their Scientific Names. CRC Press. ISBN 9780429880896. Archived from the original on September 13, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2021 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (November 18, 2009). The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals. JHU Press. ISBN 9780801895333. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Griffiths, T. A. (2022). "'Shout hurrah!' New thoughts on the origin and meaning of the bat species name Ia io, created in 1902 by Oldfield Thomas FRS". Notes and Records. 76 (3): 337–350. doi:10.1098/rsnr.2022.0006.
  7. ^ Xu, X.; Zheng, X.; Sullivan, C.; Wang, X.; Xing, L.; Wang, Y.; Zhang, X.; O’Connor, J. K.; Zhang, F. & Pan, Y. (7 May 2015). "A bizarre Jurassic maniraptoran theropod with preserved evidence of membranous wings". Nature. 521 (7550): 70–73. Bibcode:2015Natur.521...70X. doi:10.1038/nature14423. PMID 25924069. S2CID 205243599 – via ResearchGate.
  8. ^ Menke, Arnold S. (1977). "Aha, a new genus of Australian Sphecidae, and revised key to the world genera of the tribe Miscophini (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae, Larrinae)". Polskie Pismo Entomologiczne. 47: 671–681. ISSN 0032-3780. OCLC 457011738.
  9. ^ Evans, Howard E. (1983). Menke, Arnold S. (ed.). "Tales from the Outback: The Discovery of Aha ha (Sphecidae, Miscophini)" (PDF). Sphecos. 7: 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  10. ^ Jordan, D. S.; Seale, A. (1905). "List of fishes collected by Dr. Bashford Dean on the island of Negros, Philippines". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 28 (1407): 769–803. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.28-1407.769.
  11. ^ Ueno, S.-I. (1955). "New cave-dwelling anchomenids of Japan". Opuscula Entomologica. 20: 56–64.
  12. ^ 岸本年郎 (2015-02-01). "ジャアナヒラタゴミムシ Jujiroa ana (S. Uéno, 1955)" (PDF). In 環境省自然環境局野生生物課希少種保全推進室 (ed.). レッドデータブック2014 -日本の絶滅のおそれのある野生動物- 昆虫類 (in Japanese). Vol. 5. ぎょうせい. p. 232. ISBN 978-4324098998. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  13. ^ a b Erwin, T.L. (2010). "Agra, arboreal beetles of Neotropical forests: pusilla group and piranha group systematics and notes on their ways of life (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini, Agrina)". ZooKeys (66): 1–28. doi:10.3897/zookeys.66.684. PMC 3088417. PMID 21594029.
  14. ^ Yu, Congyu; Prieto-Marquez, Albert; Chinzorig, Tsogtbaatar; Badamkhatan, Zorigt; Norell, Mark (2020-09-10). "A neoceratopsian dinosaur from the early Cretaceous of Mongolia and the early evolution of ceratopsia". Communications Biology. 3 (1): 499. doi:10.1038/s42003-020-01222-7. ISSN 2399-3642. PMC 7484756. PMID 32913206.
  15. ^ Ortea, J.; Moro, L.; Bacallado, J.J.; Caballer, M. (2014). "Nuevas especies y primeras citas de babosas marinas (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia) en las islas Canarias y en otros archipiélagos de la Macaronesia" (PDF). Vieraea (in Spanish). 42: 47–77. doi:10.31939/vieraea.2014.42.04. S2CID 248598090. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  16. ^ de Nicéville, L. (1895). "On new and little-known Butterflies from the Indo-Malayan Region". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 9 (3): 259–321. Archived from the original on 2022-03-26. Retrieved 2022-03-26 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  17. ^ Levi, H. W. (1983). "The orb-weaver genera Argiope, Gea, and Neogea from the western Pacific region (Araneae: Araneidae, Argiopinae)". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 150: 247–338. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-11-21 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  18. ^ Metzger, Wolfram Gottfried; Mordmüller, Benjamin (April 2014). "Loa loa—does it deserve to be neglected?". The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 14 (4): 353–357. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(13)70263-9. PMID 24332895.
  19. ^ Thomson, MC; Obsomer, V; Dunne, M; Connor, SJ; Molyneux, DH (2000). "Satellite mapping of Loa loa prevalence in relation to ivermectin use in west and central Africa". The Lancet. 356 (9235): 1077–1078. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(00)02733-1. PMID 11009145. S2CID 11743223.
  20. ^ Cobbold, T. S. (1864). Entozoa, an introduction to the study of helminthology, with reference more particularly to the internal parasites of man. London: Groombridge and Sons. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.46771.
  21. ^ Vršanský, Peter; Wang, Bo (2017-11-01). "A new cockroach, with bipectinate antennae, (Blattaria: Olidae fam. nov.) further highlights the differences between the Burmite and other faunas". Biologia. 72 (11): 1327–1333. doi:10.1515/biolog-2017-0144. ISSN 1336-9563. S2CID 90462220.
  22. ^ Willis, J.H.; Court, A.B. (1955). "Changes in the nomenclature of three Victorian monocotyledons". Muelleria. 1 (1): 45. doi:10.5962/p.171606. S2CID 250997448. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-10 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  23. ^ Walsh, N.G.; Weiller, C.M.; Thompson, I.R. (2009). "Poa". In Wilson, A. (ed.). Flora of Australia. Vol. 44A. Poaceae 2. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. pp. 1–410. ISBN 978-0-643-09629-5.
  24. ^ "Poa fax J.H.Willis & Court | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  25. ^ "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  26. ^ "Florabase—the Western Australian Flora". Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  27. ^ "Tropicos | Name - Neuropoa fax (Willis & Court) Clayton". Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  28. ^ "Poa fax J.H.Willis & Court". Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  29. ^ "RBG Kew: GrassBase - Neuropoa fax Description". Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  30. ^ Clayton, W. D. (1985). "Miscellaneous notes on Pooid grasses". Kew Bull. 40 (4): 727–729. doi:10.2307/4109854. JSTOR 4109854.
  31. ^ Hamilton, F. (1822). An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches. Edinburgh & London: Archibald Constable and company & Hurst, Robinson & Co. pp. 1–405. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.59540 – via BHL.
  32. ^ Gray, J. E. (1834). Illustrations of Indian zoology; chiefly selected from the collection of Major-General Hardwicke. Vol. 2. London: Treuttel, Wurtz, Treuttel, Jun. and Richter. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.95127 – via BHL.
  33. ^ "Paradisus batavus". Archived from the original on 2002-02-19.
  34. ^ Crowley, D. (2020). "Acer yui". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T193891A2289468. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T193891A2289468.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  35. ^ "Flora of China, Acer yui W. P. Fang, 1966. 川甘枫 chuan gan feng". Archived from the original on 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  36. ^ Erwin, T. L. (1982). "Agra, arboreal beetles of Neotropical forests: erythropus group systematics (Carabidae)". Systematic Entomology. 7 (1): 39–71. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.1982.tb00125.x. S2CID 222187917.
  37. ^ Erwin, Terry L. (2000). "Arboreal Beetles of Neotropical Forests: Agra Fabricius, the Novaurora Complex (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Lebiini: Agrina)" (PDF). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology (608). doi:10.5479/si.00810282.608. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  38. ^ Erwin, Terry L. (2000). "Arboreal Beetles of Neotropical Forests: Agra Fabricius, a Taxonomic Supplement for the Platyscelis Group with New Species and Distribution Records (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Lebiini, Agrina)". The Coleopterists Bulletin. 54 (1): 90–119. doi:10.1649/0010-065X(2000)054[0090:ABONFA]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 4009478. S2CID 86216922.
  39. ^ Erwin, Terry L. (2002). "The Beetle Family Carabidae of Costa Rica: Twenty-nine new species of Agra Fabricius 1801 (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Lebiini, Agrina)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 119: 1–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.119.1.1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  40. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Betta pi". FishBase. November 2021 version.
  41. ^ Lea, A.M. (1911). "Notes on Australian Curculionidae in the Belgian Museum, with descriptions of new species. Part. 2". Mémoires de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 18: 61–128 – via BHL.
  42. ^ Fåhræus, O.I. (1871). "Coleoptera Caffrariae, Annis 1838–45 a J. A. Wahlberg collecta. Fam. Scolytidae, Paussidae, Bostrichidae et Cioidae". Öfversigt af Kongl. Vetenskaps-akademiens forhandlingar (in Latin). 28 (6): 661–672 – via BHL.
  43. ^ Souza-Gonçalves I, Orsetti A, Lopes-Andrade C (2018). "Synopsis of Cis Latreille (Coleoptera: Ciidae) from southern Africa". Insects. 9 (4): 184. doi:10.3390/insects9040184.
  44. ^ Wright, John (2016). A Natural History of the Hedgerow: and ditches, dykes and dry stone walls. London: Profile Books. ISBN 9781847659354. Archived from the original on 2022-09-13. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  45. ^ "Cis fagi". UK Beetles. Archived from the original on 2021-09-25. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  46. ^ Lopes-Andrade C, Gumier-Costa, F, Zacaro AA (2003). "Cis leoi, a new species of Ciidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea) from the Neotropical Region". Zootaxa. 161: 1–7. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.161.1.1 – via ResearchGate.
  47. ^ Haddad, Charles (2013). "A revision of the continental species of Copa Simon, 1885 (Araneae, Corinnidae) in the Afrotropical Region". ZooKeys (276): 1–37. doi:10.3897/zookeys.276.4233. PMC 3677340. PMID 23794814.
  48. ^ Lücking, R.; Forno, M. D.; Moncada, B.; Coca, L. F.; Vargas-Mendoza, L. Y.; Aptroot, A.; et al. (2016). "Turbo-taxonomy to assemble a megadiverse lichen genus: seventy new species of Cora (Basidiomycota: Agaricales: Hygrophoraceae), honouring David Leslie Hawksworth's seventieth birthday". Fungal Diversity. 84 (1): 139–207. doi:10.1007/s13225-016-0374-9. S2CID 27732638.
  49. ^ Marcus, E. (1961). "Opisthobranch mollusks from California". The Veliger. 3 (Supplement): 1–85. Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2021-11-30 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  50. ^ Marcus, Ernst (1955). "Opisthobranchia from Brazil". Boletim da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras da Universidade de São Paulo (Zoologia). 20 (20): 89–261. doi:10.11606/issn.2526-3382.bffclzoologia.1955.120213.
  51. ^ Druce, H. (1892). "Insecta. Lepidoptera-Heterocera, Vol. II". Biologia Centrali-Americana. p. 110 – via BHL.
  52. ^ Moraes SS, Montebello Y, Stanton MA, Yamaguchi LF, Kato MJ, Freitas AV (2021). "Description of three new species of Geometridae (Lepidoptera) using species delimitation in an integrative taxonomy approach for a cryptic species complex". PeerJ. 9: e11304. doi:10.7717/peerj.11304. PMC 8139274.
  53. ^ Keyserling, E. (1891). Die Spinnen Amerikas. Brasilianische Spinnen. Vol. 3. Nuremberg: Bauer & Raspe. pp. 1–278. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.64832.
  54. ^ Wunderlich, J. (2012). "NEW FOSSIL SPIDERS (ARANEAE) OF EIGHT FAMILIES IN EOCENE BALTIC AMBER, AND REVISIONS OF SELECTED TAXA" (PDF). Beiträge zur Araneologie. 7: 94–149. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  55. ^ Samuel T. Turvey (2005). "Agnostid trilobites from the Arenig–Llanvirn of South China". Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 95 (3–4): 527–542. doi:10.1017/S026359330000119X. S2CID 130775617.
  56. ^ "Etymology: Names from Fictional Characters". Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  57. ^ Avdeev, G. V.; Kazatchenko, V. N. (1986). "Parasitic Copepods from Fishes of the Genus Lophiomus Gill in the Pacific". Crustaceana. 50 (1): 53–67. doi:10.1163/156854085X00071. JSTOR 20104122.
  58. ^ Godman, F.D.; Salvin, O. (1887–1901). Biologia Centrali-Americana. Insecta Lepidoptera-Rhopalocera. Vol. II. Vol. 2. p. 489. Archived from the original on 2022-03-26. Retrieved 2022-03-26 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  59. ^ Cong, Qian; Zhang, Jing; Shen, Jinhui; Grishin, Nick V. (11 October 2019). "Fifty new genera of Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera)". Insecta Mundi. 0731: 1–56. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  60. ^ Jäger, P.; Krehenwinkel, H. (1 August 2015). "May gen. n. (Araneae: Sparassidae): A Unique Lineage from Southern Africa Supported by Morphological and Molecular Features". African Invertebrates. 56 (2): 365–392. doi:10.5733/afin.056.0209.
  61. ^ Xing Xu & Mark A. Norell (2004). "A new troodontid dinosaur from China with avian-like sleeping posture" (PDF). Nature. 431 (7010): 838–841. Bibcode:2004Natur.431..838X. doi:10.1038/nature02898. PMID 15483610. S2CID 4362745.
  62. ^ Thomas, O. (1906). "XX.—Descriptions of new mammals from mount Ruwenzori". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 7. 18 (104): 136–147. doi:10.1080/00222930608562587. Archived from the original on 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2021-12-08 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  63. ^ Jarzembowski, E. A.; Wang, B.; Zheng, D. (March 2017). "A new ommatin beetle (Insecta: Coleoptera) with unusual genitalia from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber: Ommatin beetle Burmese amber". Cretaceous Research. 71: 113–117. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.10.010. ISSN 0195-6671.
  64. ^ Roberts, T.R. (1998). "Freshwater fugu or pufferfishes of the genus Tetraodon from the Mekong basin, with descriptions of two new species". Ichthyological Research. 45 (3): 225–234. doi:10.1007/BF02673920. S2CID 42337903.
  65. ^ Kottelat, M. (2013). "The Fishes of the Inland Waters of Southeast Asia: A Catalogue and Core Bibliography of the Fishes Known to Occur in Freshwaters, Mangroves and Estuaries" (PDF). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Supplement No. 27: 1–663. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  66. ^ Evenhuis, N. L. (2002). "Pieza, a new genus of microbombyliids from the New World (Diptera: Mythicomyiidae)". Zootaxa. 36 (1): 1–28. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.36.1.1.
  67. ^ Menke, Arnold S. (1988). "Pison in the New World: a revision (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae: Trypoxylini)". Contributions of the American Entomological Institute. 24 (3): 1–171. ASIN B000721IBQ. ISSN 0569-4450. OCLC 715120981.
  68. ^ Hitchcock, A.S. (1930). "Fifteen new species of grasses, six from Africa, nine from China". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 43: 89–96. Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  69. ^ Tovar, O. (1985). "Ocho especies nuevas de Gramineae del Perú" (PDF). Publ. Mus. Hist. Nat. Javier Prado, Ser. B, Bot. (in Spanish). 33. Lima. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  70. ^ Edgar, E. (1986). "Poa L. in New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 24 (3): 425–503. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1986.10409820.
  71. ^ Weiller, C. M.; Stajsic, V.; Walsh, N. G. (2005). "New Victorian endemic species of Poa L. (Poaceae)". Muelleria. 22: 11–17. doi:10.5962/p.291568. S2CID 250995329. Archived from the original on 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2021-11-18 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  72. ^ Roberts, T.R. (1999). "Fishes of the cyprinid genus Tor in the Nam Theun watershed (Mekong basin) of Laos, with description of a new species" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 47 (1): 225–236. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  73. ^ Reichardt, H. (1973). "A critical study of the suborder Myxophaga, with a taxonomic revision of the Brazilian Torridincolidae and Hydroscaphidae (Coleoptera)". Arquivos de Zoologia. 24 (2): 73–162. doi:10.11606/issn.2176-7793.v24i2p73-162.