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affix In linguistics, an affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form. Affixes may be derivational, like English ''-ness'' and ''pre-'', or inflectional, like English plural ''-s'' and past tense ''-ed''. They ar ...
es used when scientifically naming species, particularly extinct species for whom only their scientific names are used, along with their derivations. *a-, an-: ''Pronunciation'': /ə/, /a/, /ən/, /an/. ''Origin'': grc, ἀ-, ἀν- (''a, an-''). ''Meaning'': a prefix used to make words with a sense opposite to that of the root word; in this case, meaning "without" or "-less". This is usually used to describe organisms without a certain characteristic, as well as organisms in which that characteristic may not be immediately obvious. *:Examples: '' Anurognathus'' ("tail-less jaw"); ''
Apus Apus is a small constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere, southern sky. It represents a bird-of-paradise, and its name means "without feet" in Greek language, Greek because the bird-of-paradise was once wrongly believed to lack feet. ...
'' ("without foot"); '' Apteryx'' ("wingless"); ''
Pteranodon ''Pteranodon'' (); from Ancient Greek (''pteron'', "wing") and (''anodon'', "toothless") is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with ''P. longiceps'' having a wingspan of . They lived during the late Cr ...
'' ("toothless wing") *-acanth, acantho-, -cantho: ''Pronunciation'': /eɪkænθ/, /eɪkænθoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, ἄκανθα (''ákantha''). ''Meaning'': spine. *:Examples: '' Acanthodes'' ("spiny base"); '' Acanthostega'' ("spine roof"); coelacanth ("hollow spine"); '' Acrocanthosaurus'' ("high-spined lizard"); ''
Acanthoderes ''Acanthoderes'' is a genus of beetles in the family Cerambycidae The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized b ...
'' ("spiny neck"); '' Acanthamoeba'' ("spiny amoeba") * aeto-: ''Pronunciation'': /aɛto/. Origin: grc, ἀετός (''aetós''). ''Meaning'': eagle. *:Examples: ''
Aetonyx ''Massospondylus'' ( ; from Greek, (massōn, "longer") and (spondylos, "vertebra")) is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic. (Hettangian to Pliensbachian ages, ca. 200–183 million years ago). It was described by Si ...
'' ("eagle claw"); ''
Aetobatus ''Aetobatus'' is a genus of eagle rays native to the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was formerly placed in Myliobatidae, but is now placed in its own family Aetobatidae based on salient differences from myliobatids, especially the pecto ...
'' ("eagle ray"); '' Aetosaur'' ("eagle lizard") *amphi-: ''Pronunciation'': /amfiː/, /amfɪ/. ''Origin'': grc, ἀμφί (''amphí''). ''Meaning'': both. *:Examples:
Amphibia Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...
("two types of life"); ''
Amphicoelias ''Amphicoelias'' (, meaning "biconcave", from the Greek ἀμφί, ''amphi'': "on both sides", and κοῖλος, ''koilos'': "hollow, concave") is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived approximately 150 million years ago during t ...
'' ("hollow at both ends"); ''
Amphicyon ''Amphicyon'' ("ambiguous dog") is an extinct genus of large carnivorous bone-crushing mammals, popularly known as bear dogs, of the family Amphicyonidae, subfamily Amphicyoninae, from the Burdigalian Epoch until the late Pliocene, with the creat ...
'' ("ambiguous dog") *-anthus, antho-: ''Pronunciation'': /anθəs/, /anθoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, ἄνθος (''ánthos''). ''Meaning'': flower. *:Examples: ''
Helianthus ''Helianthus'' () is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers. Except for three South American species, the species of ''Helianthus'' are native to ...
'' ("sunflower");
Anthophila Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...
("flower-loving"); '' Dianthus'' ("Zeus flower"/"godly flower") *arch-, archi-, archo-, -archus: ''Pronunciation'': /ark/, /arkoʊ/, /arkɪ/, /arkəs/. ''Origin'': grc, ἀρχός (''arkhós''), ''meaning'': ruler; ἀρχικός (''arkhikós''), ''meaning'': ruling. Used for exceptionally large or widespread animals. *:Examples: ''
Archelon ''Archelon'' is an extinct marine turtle from the Late Cretaceous, and is the largest turtle ever to have been documented, with the biggest specimen measuring from head to tail and in body mass. It is known only from the Dakota Pierre Shal ...
'' ("ruling turtle"); '' Architeuthis'' ("ruling squid"); '' Thalattoarchon'' ("Sea Ruler"); ''
Archosaur Archosauria () is a clade of diapsids, with birds and crocodilians as the only living representatives. Archosaurs are broadly classified as reptiles, in the cladistic sense of the term which includes birds. Extinct archosaurs include non-avian d ...
'' ("ruling lizard"); ''
Andrewsarchus ''Andrewsarchus'' () is an extinct genus of mammal that lived during the middle Eocene epoch in what is now Inner Mongolia, China. Only one species is usually recognized, ''A. mongoliensis'', known from a single skull of great size discovered in ...
'' (" Andrews's ruler") *archaeo-: ''Pronunciation'': /arkiːɒ/, /arkiːoʊ/ . ''Origin'': grc, ἀρχαῖος (''arkhaîos''). ''Meaning'': ancient. Used for early versions of animals and plants. *:Examples: ''
Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...
'' ("ancient wing"); ''
Archaeoindris ''Archaeoindris fontoynontii'' is an extinct giant lemur and the largest primate known to have evolved on Madagascar, comparable in size to a male gorilla. It belonged to a family of extinct lemurs known as "sloth lemurs" (Palaeopropithecidae) ...
'' ("ancient
Indri The indri (; ''Indri indri''), also called the babakoto, is one of the largest living lemurs, with a head-body length of about and a weight of between . It has a black and white coat and maintains an upright posture when climbing or clinging. ...
"); ''
Archaeopteris ''Archaeopteris'' is an extinct genus of progymnosperm tree with fern-like leaves. A useful index fossil, this tree is found in strata dating from the Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous (), the oldest fossils being 385 million years old, ...
'' ("ancient fern"); '' Archaeanthus'' ("ancient flower") *-arctos, arcto-: ''Pronunciation'': /arktoʊz/, /arktoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, ἄρκτος (''árktos''). ''Meaning'': bear. *:Examples: ''
Phascolarctos ''Phascolarctos'' is a genus of marsupials with one living species, the koala ''Phascolarctos cinereus'', an iconic animal of Australia. Several extinct species of the genus are known from fossil material, these were also large tree dwellers that ...
'' ("bag bear"); '' Arctodus'' ("bear tooth"); '' Arctocyon'' ("bear dog") *arthro-: /arθroʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, ἄρθρον (''árthron''). ''Meaning'': joint. Often used for animals with
exoskeletons An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...
. *:Examples: ''
Arthrospira ''Arthrospira'' is a genus of free-floating filamentous cyanobacteria characterized by cylindrical, multicellular trichomes in an open left-hand helix. A dietary supplement is made from ''A. platensis'' and ''A. maxima'', known as spirulina. ...
'' ("jointed coil"); '' Arthropleura'' ("jointed rib");
arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...
("jointed foot") *aspido-, -aspis: ''Pronunciation'': /əspɪdoʊ/, /əspɪs/. ''Origin'': grc, ἀσπίς (''aspís''). ''Meaning'': shield. The suffix "-aspis" is used to describe
armored fish Placodermi (from Greek πλάξ 'plate' and δέρμα 'skin', literally 'plate-skinned') is a class of armoured prehistoric fish, known from fossils, which lived from the Silurian to the end of the Devonian period. Their head and thorax were ...
. *:Examples: '' Aspidochelone'' ("shield turtle"); '' Cephalaspis'' ("head shield"); ''
Sacabambaspis ''Sacabambaspis'' is an extinct genus of jawless fish that lived in the Ordovician period. ''Sacabambaspis'' lived in shallow waters on the continental margins of Gondwana. It is the best known arandaspid with many specimens. It is related to '' ...
'' ("
Sacabamba Sacabamba ( qu, Saqapampa) is a town in the Cochabamba Department in central Bolivia. It is the capital of Sacabamba Municipality, the fourth municipal section of Esteban Arce Province Esteban Arce is a province in Cochabamba Department, Bol ...
shield"); '' Brindabellaspis'' (" Brindabella shield") *-avis: ''Pronunciation'': /əvɪs/. ''Origin'': la, avis. ''Meaning'': bird. *:Examples: ''
Protoavis ''Protoavis'' (meaning "first bird") is a problematic taxon known from fragmentary remains from Late Triassic Norian stage deposits near Post, Texas. Much controversy remains over the animal, and there are many different interpretations of what ...
'' ("first bird"); ''
Argentavis ''Argentavis magnificens'' was among the largest flying birds ever to exist. While it is still considered the heaviest flying bird of all time, ''Argentavis'' was likely surpassed in wingspan by ''Pelagornis sandersi'' which is estimated to have ...
'' ("Argentine bird"); ''
Eoalulavis ''Eoalulavis'' (from the Ancient Greek: ''Éōs'', "dawn"; ''alula'', "bastard wing"; ''avis'', "bird") is a monotypic genus of enantiornithean bird that lived during the Barremian, in the Lower Cretaceous around 125 million years ago. The only ...
'' ("little-winged dawn bird") *-bates: ''Pronunciation'': /bætiz/. ''Origin'': grc, βαίνω ("baínō"). ''Meaning'': wanderer, one that treads. *:Examples: ''
Hylobates The genus ''Hylobates'' is one of the four genera of gibbons. Its name means "forest walker", from the Greek (, "forest") and (, "one who treads"). It was once considered the only genus, but recently its subgenera (''Hoolock'' ormerly ''Bun ...
'' ("forest wanderer"); ''
Dendrobates ''Dendrobates'' is a genus of poison dart frogs native to Central and South America. It once contained numerous species, but most originally placed in this genus have been split off into other genera such as ''Adelphobates'', '' Ameerega'', '' A ...
'' ("tree wanderer") *brachi-, brachy-: ''pronunciation'': /brækɪ/. ''Origin'': grc, βραχύς, βραχίων (''brakhús, brakhíōn''). ''Meaning'': short, and the short part of the arm, or upper arm, respectively. Used in its original meaning, and also to mean "arm". *:Examples: '' Brachylophosaurus'' ("short-crested lizard"); ''
Brachiosaurus ''Brachiosaurus'' () is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic, about 154to 150million years ago. It was first described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in th ...
'' ("arm lizard"); '' Brachyceratops'' ("short-horned face") *bronto-: ''Pronunciation'': /brɒntoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, βροντή (''brontḗ''). ''Meaning'': thunder. Used for large animals. *:Examples: ''
Brontosaurus ''Brontosaurus'' (; meaning "thunder lizard" from Greek , "thunder" and , "lizard") is a genus of gigantic quadruped sauropod dinosaurs. Although the type species, ''B. excelsus'', had long been considered a species of the closely related ''A ...
'' ("thunder lizard"), '' Brontotherium'' ("thunder beast"), ''
Brontoscorpio ''Brontoscorpio'' is an extinct genus of scorpion. Remains of the only known species, ''Brontoscorpio anglicus'', were discovered in the St. Maughan's Formation, Lochkovian-aged sandstone from Trimpley, Worcestershire. The species was described o ...
'' ("thunder scorpion") ''
Brontochelys ''Brontochelys'' is an extinct genus of podocnemidid from the Miocene of Pakistan. The only species known, ''B. gaffneyi'' was classified before in the genus '' Shweboemys'', which is known from the Pliocene of Burma. ''Brontochelys'' is represe ...
'' ("thunder turtle") *-canth, cantho-: see -acanth, acantho-. *carcharo-: ''Pronunciation'': /kərkæro/. ''Origin'': (''kárkharos''). ''Meaning'': sharp, jagged; extended via (''karkharías'') to mean "shark". *:Examples: '' Carcharodon'' ("jagged tooth"), ''
Carcharocles ''Otodus'' is an extinct genus of mackerel shark which lived from the Paleocene to the Pliocene epoch. The name ''Otodus'' comes from Ancient Greek (, meaning "ear") and (, meaning "tooth") – thus, "ear-shaped tooth". Anatomy This shark is k ...
'' ("glorious shark"), '' Carcharodontosaurus'' ("serrated tooth lizard") *-cephalus, cephalo-, -cephale, -cephalian: ''Pronunciation'': /sɛfələs/, /sɛfəloʊ̯/, /sɛfəli:/ /sɛfeɪliːən/. ''Origin'': grc, κεφαλή (''kephalḗ''). ''Meaning'': head. *:Examples: '' Sclerocephalus'' ("hard head"); ''
Euoplocephalus ''Euoplocephalus'' ( ) is a genus of very large, herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaurs, living during the Late Cretaceous of Canada. It has only one named species, ''Euoplocephalus tutus''. The first fossil of ''Euoplocephalus'' was found in 1897 i ...
'' ("well-protected head"), ''
Pachycephalosaurus ''Pachycephalosaurus'' (; meaning "thick-headed lizard", from Greek ''pachys-/'' "thick", ''kephale/'' "head" and ''sauros/'' "lizard") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. The type species, ''P. wyomingensis'', is the only known species, ...
'' ("thick headed lizard"), ''
Amtocephale ''Amtocephale'' (meaning " Amtgai head") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from early Late Cretaceous (Turonian-Santonian stages) deposits of southern Gobi Desert, Mongolia. ''Amtocephale'' is known from the holotype MPC-D 100/120 ...
'' (" Amtgai head"); ''
Therocephalian Therocephalia is an extinct suborder of eutheriodont therapsids (mammals and their close relatives) from the Permian and Triassic. The therocephalians ("beast-heads") are named after their large skulls, which, along with the structure of their te ...
'' ("beast-headed") *-ceras, cerat-, -ceratus: ''Pronunciation'': /sɛrəs/, /sɛrət/, /sɛrətəs/. ''Origin'': grc, κέρας (''kéras''). ''Meaning'': horn. Used for many horned animals, but most notably ceratopsians. *:Examples: '' Stegoceras'' ("roof horn"); ''
Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivore, herbivorous Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 m ...
'' ("three-horned face"), ''
Orthoceras ''Orthoceras'' ("straight horn") is a genus of extinct nautiloid cephalopod restricted to Middle Ordovician-aged marine limestones of the Baltic States and Sweden. This genus is sometimes called ''Orthoceratites''. Note it is sometimes misspelle ...
'' ("straight horn") ''
Megaloceras ''Megaloceras'' is a genus of the nautiloid order Oncocerida that lived during the Silurian period of the Paleozoic. It is included in the family Karoceratidae, characterized by compressed straight or exogastricly curved shells with slender vent ...
'' ("big horn") '' Ceratosaurus'' ("horned lizard"); ''
Microceratus ''Microceratus'' (meaning "small-horned") is a genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous period in Asia. It walked on two legs, had short front arms, a characteristic ceratopsian frill and beak-like mouth, and was aroun ...
'' ("small horned");
rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
("nose horn"); ''
Albertoceras ''Albertoceras'' is a genus of Early Ordovician ellesmeroceratids with a small, slender, orthoconic to slightly endogastric shell; some even tiny. The cross section is strongly compressed so as to make the height proportionally notably greater ...
'' ("
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
horn") *cetio-, -cetus: ''Pronunciation'': /sɛtɪoʊ/, /siːtəs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek κῆτος (''kētos''). ''Meaning'': sea-monster. The suffix "-cetus" is used for whales or whale ancestors, while the prefix "cetio-" is used for whale-like or large animals. *:Examples: ''
Peregocetus ''Peregocetus'' is a genus of early whale that lived in what is now Peru during the Middle Eocene epoch. Its fossil was uncovered in 2011 in the Yumaque Formation of the Pisco Basin at Playa Media Luna by a team consisting of members from Bel ...
'' ("Perego whale") '' Cetiosaurus'' ("whale lizard"); '' Ambulocetus'' ("walking whale"); '' Pakicetus'' ("
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
whale") *-cheirus: ''Pronunciation'': /kaɪrəs/. ''Origin'': grc, χείρ (''kheír''). ''Meaning'': hand. *:Examples: ''
Deinocheirus ''Deinocheirus'' ( ) is a genus of large ornithomimosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous around 70 million years ago. In 1965, a pair of large arms, shoulder girdles, and a few other bones of a new dinosaur were first discovered in the Ne ...
'' ("terrible hand"); '' Ornithocheirus'' ("bird hand"); ''
Austrocheirus ''Austrocheirus'' is an extinct genus of theropod dinosaur, possibly a neoceratosaurian, which existed during the Late Cretaceous period. It was named and described by Martin Ezcurra, Federico Agnolin and Fernando Novas in 2010. It contains the ...
'' ("southern hand"); '' Haplocheirus'' ("simple hand") *chloro-: ''Pronunciation'': /kloroʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, χλωρός (''khlōrós''). ''Meaning'': green. *:Examples: Chlorophyta ("green plant")
Chlorophyll Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to a ...
("green leaf") *choer-: ''Pronunciation'': /koɪroʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, χοίρος (''koíros''). ''Meaning'': pig. *:Examples: '' Choeroichthys'' ("pig-fish"); ''
Choerophryne ''Choerophryne'' is a genus of microhylid frogs, commonly known as Torricelli mountain frogs, endemic to New Guinea. These frogs are small, with the body length measured from snout to vent between 11 and 23 mm. Taxonomy and systematics The ...
'' ("frog pig"); ''
Choerodon ''Choerodon'' is a genus of wrasses native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. They are commonly referred to as tuskfish, because most species have sharp tusk-like teeth. Species The 24 currently recognized species in this genus a ...
'' ("pig tooth") *coel-: ''Pronunciation'': /siːl/ or /sɛl/ . ''Origin'': grc, κοῖλος (''koîlos''). ''Meaning'': hollow. *:Examples: coelacanth ("hollow spine"); ''
Coelodonta ''Coelodonta'' (, from the Greek κοιλία, ''koilía'' and οδούς, ''odoús'', "hollow tooth", in reference to the deep grooves of their molars) is an extinct genus of rhinoceros that lived in Eurasia between 3.7 million years to 10,000 ...
'' ("hollow tooth"); '' Coelophysis'' ("hollow form") ''
Amphicoelias ''Amphicoelias'' (, meaning "biconcave", from the Greek ἀμφί, ''amphi'': "on both sides", and κοῖλος, ''koilos'': "hollow, concave") is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived approximately 150 million years ago during t ...
'' (¨hollow at both ends¨) *cyan-, cyano-: ''Pronunciation'': /saɪæno/. ''Origin'': grc, κυάνεος (''kuáneos''). ''Meaning'': dark blue, blue, dark blue-green. *:Examples: ''
Cyanocitta ''Cyanocitta'' is a genus of birds in the family Corvidae, a family which contains the crows, jays and magpies. Established by Hugh Edwin Strickland in 1845, it contains the following species: The name ''Cyanocitta'' is a combination of the Gr ...
'' ("blue jay");
Cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria (), also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name ''cyanobacteria'' refers to their color (), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, blu ...
("blue bacteria"); '' Cyanocorax'' ("blue raven") *cyclo-: ''Pronunciation'': /saɪkloʊ/ (or /saɪklɒ/). ''Origin'': grc, κύκλος (''kúklos''). ''Meaning'': circle. *:Examples: ''
Cyclomedusa ''Cyclomedusa'' is a circular fossil of the Ediacaran biota; it has a circular bump in the middle and as many as five circular growth ridges around it. Many specimens are small, but specimens in excess of 20 cm are known. The concentric di ...
'' ("circle Medusa"); Cyclostomata ("circle mouth") *cyn-, -cyon: ''Pronunciation'': /saɪn/, /saɪɒn/. ''Origin'': grc, κύων (''kúon''). ''Meaning'': dog. Used for dogs or dog-like creatures. *:Examples:
Cynodont The cynodonts () (clade Cynodontia) are a clade of eutheriodont therapsids that first appeared in the Late Permian (approximately 260 mya), and extensively diversified after the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Cynodonts had a wide variety ...
("dog tooth"); '' Cynognathus'' ("dog jaw"); ''
Cynopterus ''Cynopterus'' (Latin meaning: ״flying dog״) is a genus of megabats. The cynopterine section is represented by 11 genera,Andersen K. 1912. Catalogue of the chiroptera in the collection of the British Museum. Second edition, British Museum of N ...
'' ("dog wing"); '' Arctocyon'' ("bear dog"); ''
Procyonidae Procyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It comprises the raccoons, ringtails, cacomistles, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, and olinguitos. Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments and are generally omnivorous. Character ...
'' ("before the dog"); *-dactyl, -dactylus: ''Pronunciation'': /dæktəl/, /dæktələs/. ''Origin'': grc, δάκτυλος (''dáktulos''). ''Meaning'': finger, toe. *:Examples: artiodactyl ("even toe"); '' Pterodactylus'' ("wing finger"); perissodactyl ("uneven toe") * -deres: ''Origin'': grc, δέρη (''dére''). ''Meaning'': neck, collar. *:Examples: ''
Acanthoderes ''Acanthoderes'' is a genus of beetles in the family Cerambycidae The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized b ...
'' ("spiny neck") *-derm: ''Pronunciation'': /dɜrm/. ''Origin'': grc, δέρμα (''dérma''). ''Meaning'': animal hide. Used for skin. *:Examples: placoderm ("plated skin");
echinoderm An echinoderm () is any member of the phylum Echinodermata (). The adults are recognisable by their (usually five-point) radial symmetry, and include starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the sea ...
("hedgehog skin");
ostracoderm Ostracoderms () are the armored jawless fish of the Paleozoic Era. The term does not often appear in classifications today because it is paraphyletic (excluding jawed fishes) (may also be polyphyletic if anaspids are closer to cyclostomes) and th ...
("shell skin") *-delphys, -delphis, delpho-: ''Pronunciation'': /dɜlfɪs/, /dɜlfʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, δελφύς ('' delphis''). ''Meaning'': womb. Used for
theria Theria (; Greek: , wild beast) is a subclass of mammals amongst the Theriiformes. Theria includes the eutherians (including the placental mammals) and the metatherians (including the marsupials) but excludes the egg-laying monotremes. Ch ...
n mammals. *:Examples: ''
Sinodelphys ''Sinodelphys'' is an extinct eutherian from the Early Cretaceous, estimated to be 125 million years old. It was discovered and described in 2003 in rocks of the Yixian Formation in Liaoning Province, China, by a team of scientists including Zhe ...
'' ("Chinese womb"); '' Didelphis'' ("two wombs"); ''
Didelphodon ''Didelphodon'' (from ''is''/nowiki>.html" ;"title="/nowiki>''is''/nowiki>">/nowiki>''is''/nowiki> "opossum" plus "tooth") is a genus of stagodont metatherians from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Description Although perhaps little la ...
'' ("two-womb e opossum">opossum.html" ;"title="e opossum">e opossumtooth"); ''Delphinus (genus)">Delphinius'' ("with a womb") *dendro-, -dendron, -dendrum: ''Pronunciation'': /dɛn.dɹoʊ/, /ˈdɛndɹən/, /dɛndɹəm/. ''Origin'': grc">δένδρον (''déndron''). ''Meaning'': tree. *:Examples: '' Rhododendron'' ("rose tree"); ''Liriodendron'' ("lily tree"); ''Dendrocnide">Liriodendron.html" ;"title="Rhododendron'' ("rose tree"); ''Liriodendron">Rhododendron'' ("rose tree"); ''Liriodendron'' ("lily tree"); ''Dendrocnide'' ("tree nettle"); ''Epidendrum'' ("above tree") '' Lepidodendron'' (¨scaled tree¨) *di-: ''Pronunciation'': /daɪ/. ''Origin'': grc, δίς (''dís''). ''Meaning'': twice. Used to indicate two of something. *:Examples: '' Dilophosaurus'' ("twice crested lizard"); '' Diceratops'' ("two-horned face"); diapsid ("two arches") *dino-, deino-: Pronunciation: /daɪnoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, δεινός (''deinós''). ''Meaning'': "terrible", "formidable". Used for presumably fearfully large or dangerous animals or animal parts. *:Examples:
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
("terrible lizard"), ''
Dinofelis ''Dinofelis'' is a genus of extinct sabre-toothed cats belonging to the tribe Metailurini or possibly Smilodontini. They were widespread in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America at least 5 million to about 1.2 million years ago (Early Pliocene t ...
'' ("terrible cat"), '' Dinornis'' ("terrible bird"); '' Deinonychus'' ("terrible claw"), ''
Deinocheirus ''Deinocheirus'' ( ) is a genus of large ornithomimosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous around 70 million years ago. In 1965, a pair of large arms, shoulder girdles, and a few other bones of a new dinosaur were first discovered in the Ne ...
'' ("terrible hand"); ''
Dinodocus ''Dinodocus'' (meaning "terrible beam") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur, named by Richard Owen in 1884. The name is now usually considered a ''nomen dubium''. The only species, ''D. mackesoni'', a name given to some fossil bones from the Lower ...
'' ("terrible beam"); '' Deinosuchus'' ("terrible crocodile"), ''
Dinohippus ''Dinohippus'' (Greek: "Terrible horse") is an extinct equid which was endemic to North America from the late Hemphillian stage of the Miocene through the Zanclean stage of the Pliocene (10.3—3.6 mya) and in existence for approximately . Fossi ...
'' ("terrible horse"), ''
Dinosorex ''Dinosorex'' is an extinct eulipotyphlan genus, popularly referred to as giant terror shrews due to their fearsome lower incisors. ''Dinosorex'' lived in Europe from the late Oligocene or early Miocene to the late Miocene, with a range that stre ...
'' ("terrible shrew") ''
Deinococcus ''Deinococcus'' (from the el, δεινός, ''deinos'', "dreadful, strange" and κόκκος, ''kókkos'', "granule") is in the monotypic family Deinococcaceae, and one genus of three in the order Deinococcales of the bacterial phylum ''Deinococ ...
'' ("terrible grannule") * diplo-: ''Pronunciation'': /dɪploʊ/, /dɪplo/. ''Origin'': grc, διπλόος, διπλοῦς (''diplóos'', ''diploûs''). ''Meaning'': double. *:Examples: ''
Diplodocus ''Diplodocus'' (, , or ) was a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs, whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a neo-Latin term derived from Greek διπ ...
'' ("double beam"); Diplopoda ("double feet");
Diplomonad The diplomonads (Greek for "two units") are a group of flagellates, most of which are parasitic. They include ''Giardia duodenalis'', which causes giardiasis in humans. They are placed among the metamonads, and appear to be particularly close r ...
("double unit"); ''
Diplovertebron ''Diplovertebron'' (from el, διπλοῦς , 'double' and la, vertebron, 'vertebra') is an extinct genus of embolomere that lived in the Late Carboniferous period ( Moscovian), about 310 million years ago. ''Diplovertebron'' was a medium-s ...
'' ("double vertebra") *-don, -'', -''donto-: see -odon, -odont, -odonto-. *draco-: ''Pronunciation'': /drakoʊs/ Origin: grc, δράκος (''drákos''). Meaning: dragon. *:Examples: '' Dracophyllum'' ("dragon race"); ''
Dracocephalum ''Dracocephalum'' is a genus of about 60Sonboli, A., et al. (2011)Molecular characterization of Iranian ''Dracocephalum'' (Lamiaceae) species based on RAPD data.''Acta Biologica Szegediensis'' 55(2), 227-30. to 70 speciesLazarević, P., et al. ( ...
'' ("dragon head"); '' Dracaena'' ("female dragon") *dromaeo-, dromeo-, -dromeus: ''Pronunciation'': /droʊmɪoʊ/, /droʊmɪəs/ ''Origin'': grc, δρομαῖος (''dromaîos''). Meaning: runner. *:Examples: ''
Dromaeosaurus ''Dromaeosaurus'' (, "running lizard") is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur which lived during the Late Cretaceous period (middle late Campanian and Maastrichtian), sometime between 80 and 69 million years ago, in Alberta, Canada and the ...
'' ("runner lizard"); ''
Kulindadromeus ''Kulindadromeus'' was a herbivorous dinosaur, a basal neornithischian from the Middle Jurassic. The first ''Kulindadromeus'' fossil was found in Russia. Its feather-like integument is evidence for protofeathers being basal to Ornithischia and ...
'' ("
Kulinda The eighth season of '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', premiered on CBS on Sunday, September 25, 2016 with a two-episode premiere and concluded on May 14, 2017. The season contained 24 episodes. For the 2016-17 U.S. television season, the eighth season of ' ...
runner"); ''
Thalassodromeus ''Thalassodromeus'' is a genus of pterosaur that lived in what is now Brazil during the Early Cretaceous period, about a hundred million years ago. The original skull, discovered in 1983 in the Araripe Basin of northeastern Brazil, was collect ...
'' ("sea runner"); ''
Eodromaeus ''Eodromaeus'' (meaning "dawn runner") is an extinct genus of probable basal theropod dinosaurs from the Late Triassic of Argentina. Like many other of the earliest-known dinosaurs, it hails from the Carnian-age (~230 Ma) Ischigualasto Formation ...
'' ("dawn runner") *eo-: ''Pronunciation'': /iːoʊ̯/. ''Origin'': grc, ἠώς (''ēṓs''). ''Meaning'': dawn. Used for very early appearances of animals in the fossil record. *:Examples: ''
Eohippus ''Eohippus'' is an extinct genus of small equid ungulates. The only species is ''E. angustidens'', which was long considered a species of ''Hyracotherium''. Its remains have been identified in North America and date to the Early Eocene (Ypresian ...
'' ("dawn horse"); ''
Eomaia ''Eomaia'' ("dawn mother") is a genus of extinct fossil mammals containing the single species ''Eomaia scansoria'', discovered in rocks that were found in the Yixian Formation, Liaoning Province, China, and dated to the Barremian Age of the Lower ...
'' ("dawn Maia"); ''
Eoraptor ''Eoraptor'' () is a genus of small, lightly built, basal sauropodomorph. One of the earliest-known dinosaurs, it lived approximately 231 to 228 million years ago, during the Late Triassic in Western Gondwana, in the region that is now northwest ...
'' ("dawn seizer") *-erpeton: ''Pronunciation'': /ɜrpətɒn/. ''Origin'': grc, ἑρπετόν (''herpetón''). ''Meaning'': reptile (literally, "creeping thing"); used for
amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...
. *:Examples: '' Hynerpeton'' (" Hyner creeper"); '' Greererpeton'' (" Greer creeper"); ''
Arizonerpeton ''Arizonerpeton'' is an extinct genus of nectridean lepospondyl. It contains a single species, ''Arizonerpeton wellsi''. It lived in what is now the Swisshelm Mountains of modern-day Arizona, United States. This locality belongs to the Black Prin ...
'' ("
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
creeper"); ''
Albanerpeton ''Albanerpeton'' is an extinct genus of salamander-like lissamphibian found in North America and Europe, first appearing in Cretaceous-aged strata. There are eight described members of the genus, and one undiagnosed species from the Paskapoo Form ...
'' ("La Grive Saint Alban creeper") *eu-: ''Pronunciation'': /iːu̟/. ''Origin'': grc, εὖ (''eû''). ''Meaning'': "good", "well"; also extended via New Latin to mean "true". Used in a variety of ways, often to indicate well-preserved specimens, well-developed bones, "truer" examples of fossil forms, or simply admiration on the part of the discoverer. *:Examples: '' Euparkeria'' ("
Parker's The Smith's Snackfood Company is a British-Australian snack food company owned by American multinational corporation PepsiCo. It is best known for its brand of potato crisps. The company was founded by Frank Smith and Jim Viney in the United K ...
good nimal) '' Euhelopus'' ("good marsh foot") '' Eustreptospondylus'' ("true ''
Streptospondylus ''Streptospondylus'' (meaning "reversed vertebra") is a genus of tetanuran theropod dinosaur known from the Late Jurassic period of France, 161 million years ago. It was a medium-sized predator with an estimated length of 6 meters (19.5  ...
''"); ''
Eucoelophysis ''Eucoelophysis'' (meaning "true hollow form") is a genus of silesaurid dinosauriform from the Late Triassic ( Norian) period Chinle Formation of New Mexico. It was assumed to be a coelophysid upon description, but a study by Nesbitt ''et al. ...
'' ("True Coelophysis") *-felis: ''Pronunciation'': /fiːlɪs/. ''Origin'': la, felis, feles. ''Meaning'': cat. "'' Felis''" alone is the genus name for the group that includes the
domestic cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members o ...
. *:Examples: ''
Dinofelis ''Dinofelis'' is a genus of extinct sabre-toothed cats belonging to the tribe Metailurini or possibly Smilodontini. They were widespread in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America at least 5 million to about 1.2 million years ago (Early Pliocene t ...
'' ("terrible cat"); ''
Eofelis ''Eofelis'' is an extinct genus of small nimravid (false saber-toothed cats). They were catlike creatures that evolved in parallel with true cats but are not a part of the true cat lineage and have left no living descendants. Fossils have been f ...
'' ("dawn cat"); ''
Pardofelis ''Pardofelis'' is a genus of the cat family Felidae. This genus is defined as including one species native to Southeast Asia: the marbled cat. Two other species, formerly classified to this genus, now belong to the genus '' Catopuma''. The word ...
'' ("leopard cat") *-form, -formes: ''Pronunciation'': /foʊrm/, /foʊrms/. ''Origin'': la, forma. ''Meaning'': shape, form. Used for large groups of animals that share similar characteristics; also used in names of bird and fish orders. *:Examples:
Galliformes Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are often ...
("chicken form");
Anseriformes Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...
("goose form");
Squaliformes The Squaliformes are an order (biology), order of sharks that includes about 126 species in seven families. Members of the order have two dorsal fins, which usually possess spines, they usually have a sharp head, no anal fin or nictitating me ...
("shark form") *giga-, giganto-: ''Pronunciation'': /d͡ʒaɪgə/, /d͡ʒaɪgæntoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, γίγας, γῐ́γᾰντος (''gígas, gigantos''). ''Meaning'': giant, of a giant, respectively. Used for large species. *:Examples: '' Giganotosaurus'' ("giant southern lizard"); '' Gigantopithecus'' ("giant ape"); ''
Gigantoraptor ''Gigantoraptor'' () is a genus of large oviraptorosaur dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. It is known from the Iren Dabasu Formation of Inner Mongolia, where the first remains were found in 2005. ''Gigantoraptor'' wa ...
'' ("giant seizer"); ''
Gigantopterus ''Gigantopterus'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish that lived during the Carnian stage of the Late Triassic epoch. See also * Prehistoric fish * List of prehistoric bony fish A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists ...
'' ("giant fin") *-gnath-, gnatho-, -gnathus: ''Pronunciation'': /neɪθ/, /neɪθoʊ/, /neɪθəs/ (or /gneɪθəs/). ''Origin'': grc, γνάθος (''gnáthos''). ''Meaning'': jaw. *:Examples: ''
Caenagnathasia ''Caenagnathasia'' ('recent jaw from Asia') is a small caenagnathid oviraptorosaurian theropod from the Late Cretaceous of Uzbekistan. Discovery The type species ''Caenagnathasia martinsoni'' was named and described in 1994 by Philip J. Currie ...
'' ("recent Asian jaw"); ''
Gnathostoma ''Gnathostoma'' is a genus of parasitic nematodes. The species ''Gnathostoma spinigerum'' and ''Gnathostoma hispidum'' can cause gnathostomiasis. Neurognathostomiasis occurs in the USA. ''Gnathostoma binucleatum'' (which is native to the Ameri ...
'' ("jaw mouth"); '' Cynognathus'' ("dog jaw"); '' Compsognathus'' ("elegant jaw"); '' Gnathosaurus'' ("jaw lizard") *haplo-: ''Pronunciation'': /hæplə/. ''Origin'': grc, ἁπλῶς- (''haplós-''). ''Meaning:'' simple. *:Examples: ''
Haplorhini Haplorhini (), the haplorhines (Greek for "simple-nosed") or the "dry-nosed" primates, is a suborder of primates containing the tarsiers and the simians (Simiiformes or anthropoids), as sister of the Strepsirrhini ("moist-nosed"). The name is some ...
'' ("simple-nosed"); Haplocheirus ("simple hand") *hemi-: ''Pronunciation'': /hɛmi/. ''Origin'': grc, ἡμι- (''hēmi-''). ''Meaning:'' half. *:Examples: ''
Hemicyon ''Hemicyon'', also known as the "dog-bear" (literally "half dog", from Greek (half) + (dog)), is an extinct genus of hemicyonine bear, which probably originated in Eurasia but was found in Europe, Asia and North America during the Miocen ...
'' ("half-dog");
hemichordate Hemichordata is a phylum which consists of triploblastic, enterocoelomate, and bilaterally symmetrical marine deuterostome animals, generally considered the sister group of the echinoderms. They appear in the Lower or Middle Cambrian and include ...
("half-chordate");
Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...
("half-wing") *hespero-: ''Pronunciation'': /hɛspəroʊ/. ''Origin'': (''hésperos''). ''Meaning'': western (originally, "evening"). *:Examples: '' Hesperornis'' ("western bird"); '' Hesperocyon'' ("western dog"); '' Hesperosaurus'' ("western lizard") * hippus, hippo-: Pronunciation: /hɪpəs/, /hɪpoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, ἵππος (''híppos''). ''Meaning'': horse. *:Examples: ''
Eohippus ''Eohippus'' is an extinct genus of small equid ungulates. The only species is ''E. angustidens'', which was long considered a species of ''Hyracotherium''. Its remains have been identified in North America and date to the Early Eocene (Ypresian ...
'' ("dawn horse"); ''
Hippodraco ''Hippodraco'' is a genus of iguanodontian ornithopod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah, United States. The genus contains a single species, ''H. scutodens'', known from a partial skeleton belonging to an immatur ...
'' ("horse dragon");
Hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...
("river horse") *hyl-, hylo-: ''Pronunciation'': /haɪl/, /haɪloʊ/ (or /haɪlɒ/). ''Origin'': grc, ὕλη ("húlē"). ''Meaning:'' wood, forest. *:Examples: '' Hylonomus'' ("forest dweller"); ''
Hylobates The genus ''Hylobates'' is one of the four genera of gibbons. Its name means "forest walker", from the Greek (, "forest") and (, "one who treads"). It was once considered the only genus, but recently its subgenera (''Hoolock'' ormerly ''Bun ...
'' ("forest walker"); ''
Hylarana ''Hylarana'', commonly known as golden-backed frogs, is a genus of true frogs found in tropical Asia. It was formerly considered highly diverse, containing around 84 to 96 Valid name (zoology), valid species, but taxonomic revision resulted in a ...
'' ("forest frog") *-ia: ''Pronunciation'': /iːə/. ''Origin'': grc, -ια, -εια (''-ia, -eia''). ''Meaning:'' an abstraction usually used as an honorific for a person or place. *:Examples: ''
Dickinsonia ''Dickinsonia'' is an extinct genus of basal animal that lived during the late Ediacaran period in what is now Australia, China, Russia and Ukraine. The individual ''Dickinsonia'' typically resembles a bilaterally symmetrical ribbed oval. Its a ...
'' ("for Dickinson"); '' Cooksonia'' ("for Cookson"); ''
Coloradia ''Coloradia'' is a genus of moths of the family Saturniidae. There are nine described species found in Mexico and eastern North America. The genus was first described by C. A. Blake in 1863. These are generally large moths, predominantly grey in ...
'' ("for
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
"); '' Edmontonia'' ("for
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
"); ''
Thomashuxleya ''Thomashuxleya'' is an extinct genus of notoungulate mammal, named after famous 19th-century biologist Thomas Huxley. Description ''Thomashuxleya'' was about in length and weighted an estimated , with a heavy body and strong limbs.D. Patters ...
'' ("for
Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The storie ...
") *ichthyo-, -ichthys: ''Pronunciation'': /ɪkθioʊs/, /ɪkθis/. ''Origin'': grc, ἰχθῦς (''ikhthûs''). ''Meaning'': fish. The suffix "-ichthys" is used for fish, while the prefix "ichthyo-", while used for fish, is also used for fish-like creatures. *:Examples: '' Ichthyosaurus'' ("fish lizard"); ''
Leedsichthys ''Leedsichthys'' is an extinct genus of pachycormid fish that lived in the oceans of the Middle to Late Jurassic.Liston, JJ (2004). An overview of the pachycormiform ''Leedsichthys''. In: Arratia G and Tintori A (eds) Mesozoic Fishes 3 - System ...
'' ("Leeds's fish"); ''
Haikouichthys ''Haikouichthys'' is an extinct genus of craniate (animals with notochords and distinct heads) that lived 518 million years ago, during the Cambrian explosion of multicellular life. ''Haikouichthys'' had a defined skull and other characteristic ...
'' (" Haikou fish"); ''
Ichthyostega ''Ichthyostega'' (from el, ἰχθῦς , 'fish' and el, στέγη , 'roof') is an extinct genus of limbed tetrapodomorphs from the Late Devonian of Greenland. It was among the earliest four-limbed vertebrates in the fossil record, and was on ...
'' ("fish roof") *-lania, ''Pronunciation'': /læniːə/, ''Origin'': grc, ἀλαίνειν (''alaínein''): ''Meaning'': to wander. Used for animals that are found in most places around continents. *:Examples: '' Meiolania'' ("weak wanderer"); '' Megalania'' ("great wanderer") *leo-: Pronunciation: /lɛʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, λέων (''léon''): Meaning: lion. *:Examples: '' Leopardus'' ("spotted lion"); ''
Leontopodium ''Leontopodium'' is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae. The genus is native to Europe and Asia. The fuzzy and somewhat stocky "petals" (technically, bracts) could be thought of as somewhat resembling lions' paws—hence the genus nam ...
'' ("lion foot"); ''
Leontopithecus The four species of lion tamarins or maned marmosets make up the genus ''Leontopithecus''. They are small New World monkeys named for the mane surrounding their face, similar to the mane of a lion. Description Living in the eastern rainforests ...
'' ("lion ape") *-lepis, lepido-: ''Pronunciation'': /lɛpɪs/ /lɛpɪdoʊ/ (or /lɛpɪdɒ/). ''Origin'': grc, λεπίς ('). ''Meaning'': scale. *:Examples: '' Mongolepis'' ("Mongol scale"); '' Stagonolepis'' ("ornamented scale"); '' Polymerolepis'' ("many part scale");
Lepidosauria The Lepidosauria (, from Greek meaning ''scaled lizards'') is a subclass or superorder of reptiles, containing the orders Squamata and Rhynchocephalia. Squamata includes snakes, lizards, and amphisbaenians. Squamata contains over 9,000 species, m ...
("scaled lizards"); ''
Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...
'' ("scaled wing"); '' Lepidodendron'' ("scaled tree") *-lestes: ''Pronunciation'': /lɛstiːz/. ''Origin'': grc, λῃστής ('')''. ''Meaning'': robber. *:Examples: ''
Carpolestes ''Carpolestes'' ("fruit thief" from Ancient Greek κᾰρπός (karpós), “fruit, grain” + λῃστής (lēistḗs), “thief”) is a genus of extinct primate-like mammals from the late Paleocene of North America. It first existed arou ...
'' ("fruit robber"); ''
Ornitholestes ''Ornitholestes'' (meaning "bird robber") is a small theropod dinosaur of the late Jurassic (Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation, middle Kimmeridgian age, about 154 million years agoTurner, C.E. and Peterson, F., (1999). "Biostratigraph ...
'' ("bird robber"); ''
Sarcolestes ''Sarcolestes'' (meaning "flesh robber") is an extinct genus of ankylosaurian ornithischian dinosaur from the Oxford Clay of England. The current type and only species is ''S. leedsi'', and the holotype is a single partial left mandible. The ...
'' ("flesh robber"); ''
Necrolestes ''Necrolestes'' ("grave robber" or "thief of the dead") is an extinct genus of mammals, which lived during the Early Miocene in what is now Argentine Patagonia. It is the most recent known genus of Meridiolestida, an extinct group of mammals m ...
'' ("grave robber") *long: ''Pronunciation'': /lʊng/. ''Origin'': zh, s=龙, t=龍. ''Meaning'': dragon. Used for dinosaur finds in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. *:Examples: '' Mei long'' ("sleeping dragon"); '' Bolong'' ("small dragon"); ''
Zuolong ''Zuolong'' (Zuo's dragon) is a genus of coelurosaur dinosaur which existed in what is now Wucaiwan, Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China during the Late Jurassic period (lower Oxfordian stage). It was found in the Shishugou Formation, Xinjiang, ...
'' (" Zuo's dragon"); '' Shaochilong'' ("shark toothed dragon") *-lopho-, -lophus: ''Pronunciation'': /lɒfoʊ/, /ləfəs/. ''Origin'': grc, λόφος ('). ''Meaning'': A bird's crest. Used for animals with crests on their heads. *:Examples: '' Dilophosaurus'' ("two-crested lizard"); '' Brachylophosaurus'' ("short-crested lizard"); ''
Saurolophus ''Saurolophus'' (; meaning "lizard crest") is a genus of large hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of Asia and North America, that lived in what is now the Horseshoe Canyon and Nemegt formations about 70 million to 68 million ...
'' ("lizard crest") * lyco-: ''Pronunciation'': /lɪkoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, λύκος ('). ''Meaning'': wolf. *:Examples: '' Lycopodium'' ("wolf foot"); ''
Lycodon ''Lycodon'' is a genus of colubrid snakes, commonly known as wolf snakes. The New Latin name ''Lycodon'' is derived from the Greek words λύκος (''lykos'') meaning wolf and οδόν (''odon'') meaning tooth, and refers to the fang-like ant ...
'' ("wolf tooth"); '' Lycoperdon'' ("wolf fart") *macro-: ''Pronunciation'': /mækroʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, μακρός (''makrós''). ''Meaning'': (correctly) long; (usually) large. *:Examples: macropod ("big foot"); '' Macrodontophion'' ("big tooth snake"); ''
Macrogryphosaurus ''Macrogryphosaurus'' (meaning "big enigmatic lizard") is a genus of elasmarian dinosaur from the Coniacian age Upper Cretaceous Sierra Barrosa Formation (Neuquén Group) of Argentina in Patagonia. It was described by Jorge Calvo and colleagues ...
'' ("big enigmatic lizard") *-maia, maia-: ''Pronunciation'': /meiə/ ''Origin'': grc, Μαῖα (''Maîa''). ''Meaning'': Originally the mother of Hermes in Greek mythology and the goddess of growth in Roman mythology, alternatively spelled Maja. Frequently used to indicate maternal roles, this word should not be construed as translating directly to "mother" (Latin māter; Ancient Greek μήτηρ ''mḗtēr''); aside from being a proper name, in Ancient Greek "maîa" can translate to "midwife" or "foster mother" and was used as an honorific address for older women, typically translated into English as "Good Mother". *:Examples: ''
Maiasaura ''Maiasaura'' (from the Greek ''μαῖα'', meaning "good mother" and ''σαύρα'', the feminine form of ''saurus'', meaning "reptile") is a large herbivorous saurolophine hadrosaurid ("duck-billed") dinosaur genus that lived in the area curre ...
'' ("Good Mother/Maia's lizard"); ''
Eomaia ''Eomaia'' ("dawn mother") is a genus of extinct fossil mammals containing the single species ''Eomaia scansoria'', discovered in rocks that were found in the Yixian Formation, Liaoning Province, China, and dated to the Barremian Age of the Lower ...
'' ("dawn Maia"); '' Juramaia'' (
Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...
Maia"); ''
Maiacetus ''Maiacetus'' ("mother whale") is a genus of early middle Eocene (c. 47.5 mya) cetacean from the Habib Rahi Formation of Pakistan. Paleobiology The genus contains a single species, ''Maiacetus inuus'', first described in 2009 on the basis of ...
'' ("mother whale") *mega-, megalo-: ''Pronunciation'': /mɛga/, /mɛgaloʊ̯/. ''Origin'': grc, μέγας, μεγάλη (''mégas, megálē''). ''Meaning'': big. *:Examples: ''
Megarachne ''Megarachne'' is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils of ''Megarachne'' have been discovered in deposits of Late Carboniferous age, from the Gzhelian stage, in San Luis, Argentina. The fossils of the single and ...
'' ("big spider"); '' Megalosaurus'' ("big lizard"); ''
megalodon Megalodon (''Otodus megalodon''), meaning "big tooth", is an extinct species of mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (Mya), from the Early Miocene to the Pliocene epochs. It was formerly thought to be a member ...
'' ("big tooth") *micro-: ''Pronunciation'': /maɪkroʊ̯/. ''Origin'': grc, μικρός (''mikrós''). ''Meaning'': "small". *:Examples: ''
Microraptor ''Microraptor'' (Greek, μικρός, ''mīkros'': "small"; Latin, ''raptor'': "one who seizes") is a genus of small, four-winged dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. Numerous well-preserved fossil specimens have been recovered from Liaoning, China. They dat ...
'' ("small seizer") ''
Microvenator ''Microvenator'' (meaning "small hunter") is a genus of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Cloverly Formation in what is now south central Montana. ''Microvenator'' was an oviraptorosaurian theropod. The holotype fossil is an incomplete skeleton ...
'' ("small hunter"); '' Microceratops'' ("small horned face") *mimo-, -mimus: /maɪmoʊ̯/, /maɪməs/. ''Origin'': la, mimus. ''Meaning'': actor. Used for creatures that resemble others. *:Examples: '' Struthiomimus''; ("ostrich mimic"); ''
Ornithomimus ''Ornithomimus'' (; "bird mimic") is a genus of ornithomimid dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America. ''Ornithomimus'' was a swift bipedal theropod which fossil evidence indicates was covered in feathers, equipped w ...
'' ("bird mimic"); ''
Gallimimus ''Gallimimus'' ( ) is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous period, about seventy million years ago (mya). Several fossils in various stages of growth were discovered by Polish-Mongolian exped ...
'' ("chicken mimic"); ornithomimosaur ("bird mimic lizard") * -monas, -monad: ''Pronunciation'': /moʊnas/, /monas/, /moʊnad/, /monad/. ''Origin'': grc, μονάς (''monás''). ''Meaning'': unit. Used for single-celled organisms. *:Examples: ''
Chlamydomonas ''Chlamydomonas'' is a genus of green algae consisting of about 150 speciesSmith, G.M. 1955 ''Cryptogamic Botany Volume 1. Algae and Fungi'' McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc of unicellular flagellates, found in stagnant water and on damp soil, ...
'' ("cloak unit"); '' Pseudomonas'' ("false unit"); Metamonad ("encompassing unit") *-morph: ''Pronunciation'': /moʊrf/. ''Origin'': grc, μορφή (''morphḗ''). ''Meaning'': form, shape. Used for large groups of animals which share a common genetic lineage *:Examples:
crocodylomorphs Crocodylomorpha is a group of pseudosuchian archosaurs that includes the crocodilians and their extinct relatives. They were the only members of Pseudosuchia to survive the end-Triassic extinction. During Mesozoic and early Cenozoic times, cr ...
("crocodile form"); sauropodomorphs ("
sauropod Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their bo ...
form"); Muscomorpha ("
fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...
form") ''
Dimorphodon ''Dimorphodon'' was a genus of medium-sized pterosaur from the early Jurassic Period. It was named by paleontologist Richard Owen in 1859. ''Dimorphodon'' means "two-form tooth", derived from the Greek (') meaning "two", (') meaning "shape" an ...
'' ("two forms of teeth") *-nax, -anax-: ''Pronunciation'': /nax/, /ænax/. ''Origin:'' grc, ἄναξ (''ánax''). ''Meaning'': king. *:Examples: ''
Lythronax ''Lythronax'' () is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in North America around 81.9-81.5 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. The only known specimen was discovered in Utah in the Wahweap Formation of the Grand Stairca ...
'' ("gore king") '' Saurophaganax'' ("king of the lizard-eaters") *-noto-: ''Pronunciation'': /notoʊ/. ''Origin'': . ''Meaning'': south, southern wind. Used for organisms found in the Southern Hemisphere. *:Examples: '' Giganotosaurus'' ("giant southern lizard"); '' Notosuchus'' ("southern crocodile");
Notopalaeognathae Notopalaeognathae is a clade that contains the order Rheiformes (rheas), the clade Novaeratitae (birds such as the kiwis and the emus), the order Tinamiformes (tinamous) and the extinct order Dinornithiformes (the moas). The exact relationships ...
("southern old jaws") *-nych, nycho-, -nyx: see -onych, onycho-, -onyx. *-odon, -odont, -odonto-: ''Pronunciation'': /oʊdɒn/, /oʊdɒnt/, /oʊdɒntoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, ὀδούς (''odoús''). ''Meaning'': tooth. *:Examples: ''
Dimetrodon ''Dimetrodon'' ( or ,) meaning "two measures of teeth,” is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian), around 295–272 million years ago (Mya). It is a member of the family Sphenacodontid ...
'' ("two-measures of teeth"),
cynodont The cynodonts () (clade Cynodontia) are a clade of eutheriodont therapsids that first appeared in the Late Permian (approximately 260 mya), and extensively diversified after the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Cynodonts had a wide variety ...
("dog tooth") '' Carcharodontosaurus'' ("serrated tooth lizard") *-oides, -odes: ''Pronunciation'': /oiːdiːz/, /oʊːdiːz/. ''Origin'': grc, εἶδος (''eîdos''). ''Meaning'': likeness. Used for species that resemble other species. *:Examples: '' Hypocnemoides'' ("like
Hypocnemis ''Hypocnemis'' is a genus of passerine birds in the family Thamnophilidae. They are resident breeders in tropical Central and South America. The genus ''Hypocnemis'' was introduced by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis in 1847. The name comb ...
"); '' Aetobarbakinoides'' ("like the long-legged buzzard"); ''
Callianthemoides ''Callianthemoides'' is a genus of plants in the family Ranunculaceae, with a single species, ''Callianthemoides semiverticillata''. Native to screes in northern Patagonia, it has divided greyish or reddish green leaves and large white or pink fl ...
'' ("like ''
Callianthemum ''Callianthemum'' is a genus that consists of 24 species of little rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creep ...
''"); '' Argyrodes'' ("like silver") *onycho-, -onychus, -onyx: /ɒnikoʊ/, /ɒnikəs/ (or /ɒnaɪkoʊ/, ɒnaɪkəs/), /ɒniks/. ''Origin'': grc, ὄνυξ (''ónux''). ''Meaning'': claw. *:Examples: '' Deinonychus'' ("terrible claw"); ''
Euronychodon ''Euronychodon'' ("European claw tooth") is the name given to a genus of coelurosaur dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Europe and Asia. ''Euronychodon'' is known from teeth only. These are similar to those of another coelurosaur tooth genus, ' ...
'' ("European claw tooth"); ''
Nothronychus ''Nothronychus'' (meaning "slothful claw") is a genus of therizinosaurid theropod dinosaurs that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous period. The type species, ''Nothronychus mckinleyi'', was described by James Kirkland and Douglas ...
'' ("sloth claw"), '' Baryonyx'' ("heavy claw") *ophi-: ''Pronunciation'': /ɒfɪs/. ''Origin'': grc, ὄφις (''óphis''). ''Meaning'': snake. Used for Ophidia or snake-like animals. *:Examples: ''
Ophiacodon ''Ophiacodon'' (meaning "snake tooth") is an extinct genus of synapsid belonging to the family Ophiacodontidae that lived from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian in North America and Europe. The genus was named along with its type spec ...
'' ("snake tooth"); '' Ophisaurus'' ("snake lizard"); ''
Ophiopogon ''Ophiopogon'' (lilyturf) is a genus of evergreen perennial plants native to warm temperate to tropical East, Southeast, and South Asia. Despite their grasslike appearance, they are not closely related to the true grasses, the Poaceae. The name ...
'' ("snake beard") *-ops: ''Pronunciation'': /ɒps/. ''Origin'': grc, ὄψ (''óps''). ''Meaning'': face. *:Examples: ''
Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivore, herbivorous Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 m ...
'' ("three-horned face"); '' Lycaenops'' ("wolf face"); '' Moschops'' ("calf face"); '' Spinops'' ("spine face") *-ornis, ornith-, ornitho-: ''Pronunciation'': /oʊ̯rnɪs/, /oʊ̯rnɪθ/, /oʊ̯rnɪθoʊ̯/. ''Origin'': grc, ὄρνις, ὄρνιθος (''órnis, órnithos''). ''Meaning'': bird, of a bird respectively. "ornith-" and "ornitho-" are generally used for animals with birdlike characteristics; the suffix "-ornis" is generally applied to fossil bird species. *:Examples: ornithischian ("bird-hipped"); '' Ornithocheirus'' ("bird-hand"); ''
Eoconfuciusornis ''Eoconfuciusornis'' a genus of extinct avialan that lived 131 Ma ago, in the Early Cretaceous of China. The type species of ''Eoconfuciusornis'', ''Eoconfuciusornis zhengi'', was named and described by Zhang Fucheng, Zhou Zhonghe and Michae ...
'' ("
Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
's dawn bird") *pachy-: ''Pronunciation'': /pæki/ ''Origin'': grc, παχύς (''pakhús''). ''Meaning'': thick. *:Examples: ''
Pachycephalosaurus ''Pachycephalosaurus'' (; meaning "thick-headed lizard", from Greek ''pachys-/'' "thick", ''kephale/'' "head" and ''sauros/'' "lizard") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. The type species, ''P. wyomingensis'', is the only known species, ...
'' ("thick-headed lizard"); ''
Pachylemur ''Pachylemur'' is an extinct, giant lemur most closely related to the ruffed lemurs of genus ''Varecia''. Two species are known, ''Pachylemur insignis'' and ''Pachylemur jullyi'', although there is some doubt as to whether or not they may actua ...
'' ("thick lemur"); '' Pachyuromys'' ("thick tailed mouse");
Pachydermata Pachydermata (meaning 'thick skin', from the Greek grc, παχύς, pachys, thick, label=none, and grc, δέρμα, derma, skin, label=none) is an obsolete order of mammals described by Gottlieb Storr, Georges Cuvier, and others, at one time re ...
("thick skin") *para-: ''Pronunciation'': /pærɑː/ ''Origin'': grc, παρά (''pará''). ''Meaning'': near. Used for species that resemble previously named species. *:Examples: '' Paranthodon'' ("near '' Anthodon''"); ''
Pararhabdodon ''Pararhabdodon'' (meaning "near fluted tooth" in reference to ''Rhabdodon'') is a genus of tsintaosaurin hadrosaurid dinosaur, from the Maastrichtian-age Upper Cretaceous Tremp Group of Spain. The first remains were discovered from the Sant Rom ...
'' ("near '' Rhabdodon''"); ''
Parasaurolophus ''Parasaurolophus'' (; meaning "near crested lizard" in reference to '' Saurolophus)'' is a genus of herbivorous hadrosaurid ornithopod dinosaur that lived in what is now North America and possibly Asia during the Late Cretaceous Period, abou ...
'' ("near ''
Saurolophus ''Saurolophus'' (; meaning "lizard crest") is a genus of large hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of Asia and North America, that lived in what is now the Horseshoe Canyon and Nemegt formations about 70 million to 68 million ...
'')" * -pelta: ''Pronunciation'': / pɛltə:/ ''Origin'': grc, πέλτη (''péltē''). ''Meaning'': shield. Frequently used for
ankylosaurs Ankylosauria is a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the order Ornithischia. It includes the great majority of dinosaurs with armor in the form of bony osteoderms, similar to turtles. Ankylosaurs were bulky quadrupeds, with short, powerful limbs. ...
. *:Examples: ''
Sauropelta ''Sauropelta'' ( ; meaning 'lizard shield') is a genus of nodosaurid dinosaur that existed in the Early Cretaceous Period of North America. One species (''S. edwardsorum'') has been named although others may have existed. Anatomically, ''Saurop ...
'' ("lizard shield"); '' Dracopelta'' ("dragon shield"); ''
Cedarpelta ''Cedarpelta'' is a extinct genus of basal ankylosaurid Ankylosauridae () is a family of armored dinosaurs within Ankylosauria, and is the sister group to Nodosauridae. The oldest known Ankylosaurids date to around 122 million years ago and we ...
'' (" Cedar shield") *-philus, -phila, philo-: ''Pronunciation'': /fiːləs/, /fiːlə/, /fiːloʊ/. ''Origin'': (''phílos''). ''Meaning'': dear, beloved, loving. Used for organisms perceived as having a fondness for a particular thing. *:Examples: ''
Sarcophilus ''Sarcophilus'' is a genus of carnivorous marsupial best known for its only living member, the Tasmanian devil. Sarcophilus is Latin - meaning 'flesh-loving'. There are four species of ''Sarcophilus''. '' S. laniarius'' and '' S. moornaensis'' ...
'' ("flesh-loving"); ''
Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species ...
'' ("dew-loving");
Anthophila Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...
("flower-loving"); '' Philodendron'' ("loving trees") *-phyton, -phyta, phyto-, -phyte: ''Pronunciation'': /faɪtən/, /faitə/, /faɪtoʊ/, /faɪt/. ''Origin'': (''phutón''). ''Meaning'': plant. *:Examples: '' Spermatophyta'' ("seed plant"); Rhyniophyte (" Rhynie plant"); '' Phytophthora'' ("plant destroyer"); ''
Phytolacca ''Phytolacca'' is a genus of perennial plants native to North America, South America and East Asia. Some members of the genus are known as pokeweeds or similar names such as pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot or poke sallet. Other names for species ...
'' ("plant
lac Lac is the resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated is ''Kerria lacca''. Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infes ...
") *-pithecus, pitheco-: ''Pronunciation'': /piθəkəs/, /piθəkoʊ/, //piθəkə/. ''Origin'': grc, πίθηκος (''píthēkos''). ''Meaning'': ape, monkey. *:Examples: ''
Australopithecus ''Australopithecus'' (, ; ) is a genus of early hominins that existed in Africa during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. The genus ''Homo'' (which includes modern humans) emerged within ''Australopithecus'', as sister to e.g. ''Australopi ...
'' ("southern ape"); '' Ardipithecus'' ("floor ape"); '' Gigantopithecus'' ("giant ape"); ''
Pithecellobium ''Pithecellobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words πίθηκος (''pithêkos''), meaning "ape" or "monkey," and ἐλλόβιον (''ellobion''), meaning "earring," which r ...
'' ("monkey earring") *platy-: ''Pronunciation'': /ˈplætɪ/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek πλατύς (''platús''). ''Meaning'': flat. Used for creatures that are flat or have flat parts. *:Examples: ''
Platyhelminthes The flatworms, flat worms, Platyhelminthes, or platyhelminths (from the Greek language, Greek πλατύ, ''platy'', meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root: ἑλμινθ-), ''helminth-'', meaning "worm") are a Phylum (biology), phylum of relati ...
'' ("flat worm"); ''
Platybelodon ''Platybelodon'' ("flat-spear tusk") is an extinct genus of large herbivorous proboscidean mammals related to modern-day elephants. Species lived during the middle Miocene Epoch in Africa, Asia and the Caucasus. Palaeobiology ''Platybelodon'' wa ...
'' ("flat spear-tusk"); ''
Platycodon ''Platycodon grandiflorus'' (from Ancient Greek "wide" and "bell") is a species of herbaceous flowering perennial plant of the family (biology), family Campanulaceae, and the only member of the genus ''Platycodon''. It is native plant, native ...
'' ("flat bell");
platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal Endemic (ecology), endemic to Eastern states of Australia, eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypu ...
("flat foot) *plesio-, plesi-: ''Pronunciation'': /pliːziːoʊ/, /pliːz/ (or pliːʒ/). ''Origin'': Ancient Greek πλησίον (''plēsíon''). ''Meaning'': near. Used for species that bear similarities to other species. *:Examples: '' Plesiosaurus'' ("near lizard"); ''
Plesiorycteropus ''Plesiorycteropus'', also known as the bibymalagasy or Malagasy aardvark, is a recently extinct eutherian mammalian genus from Madagascar. Upon its description in 1895, it was classified with the aardvark, but more recent molecular evidence ins ...
'' ("near aardvark"); ''
Plesiobaena ''Plesiobaena'' is an extinct genus of turtle which existed in the Belly River Formation, Canada during the late Cretaceous period (Campanian age). It was first named by Lawrence Lambe Lawrence Morris Lambe (August 27, 1863 – March 12, 1919) ...
'' ("near ''Baena''"); '' Plesiadapis'' ("near ''
Adapis ''Adapis'' is an extinct adapiform primate from the Eocene of Europe. While this genus has traditionally contained five species (''A. magnus, A. bruni, A. collinsonae, A. parisiensis,'' and ''A. sudrei''), recent research has recognized at least ...
''") *-pod, podo-, -pus: ''Pronunciation'': /pɒd/, /pɒdoʊ/, /pʊs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek πούς, ποδός (''poús, podós''). ''Meaning'': foot, of the foot, respectively. *:Examples:
Ornithopod Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous world ...
("bird foot"); ''
Brachypodosaurus ''Brachypodosaurus'' (meaning "short-footed lizard") is a dubious genus of dinosaur, possibly an ornithischian, from the Late Cretaceous Lameta Formation (Maastrichtian) in India. The only remains discovered so far for this animal consist of a ...
'' ("short footed lizard"); ''
Moropus ''Moropus'' (meaning "slow foot") is an extinct genus of large perissodactyl ("odd-toed" ungulate) mammal in the chalicothere family. They were endemic to North America during the Miocene from ~20.4—13.6  Mya, existing for approximately . ...
'' ("slow foot") *pro-, protero-: ''pronunciation:'' /proʊ̯/, /proʊ̯tεroʊ̯/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek πρό, πρότερος (''pró, próteros''). Meaning: before. Usually used for ancestral forms. *:Examples:'' Proterosuchus'' ("before crocodile"); ''
Procompsognathus ''Procompsognathus'' is an extinct genus of coelophysid theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 210 million years ago during the later part of the Triassic Period, in what is now Germany. ''Procompsognathus'' was a small-sized, lightly built, ...
'' ("before elegant jaw"); ''
Prosaurolophus ''Prosaurolophus'' (; meaning "before ''Saurolophus''", in comparison to the later dinosaur with a similar head crest) is a genus of hadrosaurid (or duck-billed) dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America. It is known from the remains of ...
'' ("before lizard crest") *proto-: ''Pronunciation'': /proʊtoʊ/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek πρῶτος (''prōtos''). Meaning: first. Used for early appearances in the fossil record. *:Examples: ''
Protoceratops ''Protoceratops'' (; ) is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 75 to 71 million years ago. The genus ''Protoceratops'' includes two species: ''P. andrewsi'' and the larger ''P. hellenik ...
'' ("first horned face"); ''
Protognathosaurus ''Protognathosaurus'' (meaning "early jaw lizard") is a genus of herbivorous dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic. It was a sauropod found at Dashanpu in Sichuan in what is present-day China. In 1988 Zhang Yihun named and described the type spec ...
'' ("first jaw lizard"); ''
Protohadros ''Protohadros'' (meaning "first hadrosaur") is a genus of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous ( Cenomanian stage). Gary Byrd, a part-time palaeontologist, discovered some remains of this euornithopod (ribs and an ungual) ...
'' ("first
hadrosaur Hadrosaurids (), or duck-billed dinosaurs, are members of the ornithischian family Hadrosauridae. This group is known as the duck-billed dinosaurs for the flat duck-bill appearance of the bones in their snouts. The ornithopod family, which includ ...
") *psittaco-, -psitta: ''Pronunciation'': /sitɑːkoʊ/, /psitə/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek ψιττακός (''psittakós''). ''Meaning'': parrot. "Psittaco-" is used for parrot-like creatures, while the suffix "psitta" is used for parrots. *:Examples: ''
Psittacosaurus ''Psittacosaurus'' ( ; "parrot lizard") is a genus of extinct ceratopsian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of what is now Asia, existing between 126 and 101 million years ago. It is notable for being the most species-rich non-avian dinosaur gen ...
'' ("parrot lizard"); ''
Cyclopsitta ''Cyclopsitta'' is a genus of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It contains two species: The genus name ''Cyclopsitta'' is a combination of the Greek name of the mythical Cyclops (a race of one-eyed Sicilian giants, whose name is a combinat ...
'' ("
Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...
parrot"); ''
Xenopsitta ''Xenopsitta'' is a prehistoric parrot genus known from a fossil tarsometatarsus in early Miocene deposits at Merkur, in western Bohemia of the Czech Republic, and described by Jiri Mlikovsky in 1998. The type species is ''Xenopsitta fejfari''. ...
'' ("strange parrot"). *pter-, ptero-, -pterus, pteryg-, -ptera, -pteryx. Pronunciation: /ter/, /teroʊ/, /pterəs/, /terɪg/, /pterɪx/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek πτέρυξ, πτέρυγος (''pterux, ptérugos''). ''Meaning:'' wing, of a wing, respectively. Used for many winged creatures, but also expanded to mean "fin", and used for many undersea
arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...
. The suffix "-ptera" is also used in orders of winged insects. *:Examples: ''
Pteranodon ''Pteranodon'' (); from Ancient Greek (''pteron'', "wing") and (''anodon'', "toothless") is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with ''P. longiceps'' having a wingspan of . They lived during the late Cr ...
'' ("toothless wing"); '' Pterodactylus'' ("winged finger"); ''
Eurypterus ''Eurypterus'' ( ) is an extinct genus of eurypterid, a group of organisms commonly called "sea scorpions". The genus lived during the Silurian period, from around 432 to 418 million years ago. ''Eurypterus'' is by far the most well-studied and ...
'' ("wide wing" or fin); ''
Pterygotus ''Pterygotus'' is a genus of giant predatory eurypterid, a group of extinct aquatic arthropods. Fossils of ''Pterygotus'' have been discovered in deposits ranging in age from Middle Silurian to Late Devonian, and have been referred to several di ...
'' ("winged" or finned);
Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
("sheathed wing"); ''
Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...
'' ("ancient wing"); ''
Stenopterygius ''Stenopterygius'' is an extinct genus of thunnosaur ichthyosaur known from Europe (England, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland). This genus of ichthyosaur was about long and weighed .Huene F. von 1939. Ein ganzes Ichthyosaurier-Skelett ...
'' ("narrow finned") *-pus: see -pod, -podo-, -pus. *-raptor, raptor-: ''Pronunciation'': /ræptər/. ''Origin'': Latin raptor. ''Meaning'': "robber, thief". Frequently used for
dromaeosaurid Dromaeosauridae () is a family of feathered theropod dinosaurs. They were generally small to medium-sized feathered carnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. The name Dromaeosauridae means 'running lizards', from Greek ('), meaning ...
s or similar animals. The term "raptor" by itself may also be used for a dromeosaurid, a ''
Velociraptor ''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the pa ...
'', or originally, a bird of prey. *:Examples: ''
Velociraptor ''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the pa ...
'' ("swift robber"); ''
Utahraptor ''Utahraptor'' (meaning "Utah's thief") is a genus of large dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in North America during the Early Cretaceous period. It was a heavy-built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore. It contains a single species, ''Utahrap ...
'' ("
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
robber"); ''
Raptorex ''Raptorex'' is a dubious genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur. Its fossil remains consist of a single juvenile specimen probably uncovered in Mongolia, or possibly northeastern China. The type species is ''R. kriegsteini'', described in 2009 by Ser ...
'' ("thief king") *-rex: Pronunciation: /rεks/. ''Origin'': Latin rex. ''Meaning'': king. Often used for large or impressive animals. *:Examples: ''
Raptorex ''Raptorex'' is a dubious genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur. Its fossil remains consist of a single juvenile specimen probably uncovered in Mongolia, or possibly northeastern China. The type species is ''R. kriegsteini'', described in 2009 by Ser ...
'' ("thief king"); ''
Dracorex ''Pachycephalosaurus'' (; meaning "thick-headed lizard", from Greek ''pachys-/'' "thick", ''kephale/'' "head" and ''sauros/'' "lizard") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. The type species, ''P. wyomingensis'', is the only known species, ...
'' ("dragon king"); '' Tyrannosaurus rex'' ("tyrant lizard king") * -rhina, rhino-, -rhinus: ''Pronunciation'': /raɪnə/ /raɪnoʊ̯/, /raɪnəs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek ῥίς (''rhís''). ''Meaning'': nose. *:Examples: ''
Altirhinus ''Altirhinus'' (; "high snout") is a genus of hadrosauroid ornithopod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of Mongolia. History of discovery All known specimens of ''Altirhinus'' were recovered in 1981 during collaborative expeditions organ ...
'' ("high nose"); ''
Pachyrhinosaurus ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' (meaning in Greek "thick-nosed lizard", from ' (), thick; ' (), nose; and (), lizard) is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of North America. The first examples were discove ...
'' ("thick-nosed lizard"); '' Lycorhinus'' ("wolf nose"); '' Arrhinoceratops'' ("noseless horned face"); ''
Cretoxyrhina ''Cretoxyrhina'' (; meaning 'Cretaceous sharp-nose') is an extinct genus of large mackerel shark that lived about 107 to 73 million years ago during the late Albian to late Campanian of the Late Cretaceous. The type species, ''C. mantelli'', is m ...
'' ("Cretaceous sharp nose");
rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
("nose horn") * rhodo-: ''Pronunciation'': /roʊdoʊ/, /rodoʊ/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek ῥόδον (''rhódon''). ''Meaning'': "rose". Used for red-colored or otherwise rose-like organisms. *:Examples: ''
Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
'' ("rose tree"); ''
Rhodophyta Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta also comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 currently recognized species with taxonomic revisions ongoing. The majority ...
'' ("rose plant"); '' Rhodomonas'' ("rose unit") *rhynco-, -rhynchus: ''Pronunciation'': /rɪnkoʊ/, /rɪnkəs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek ῥύγχος (''rhúgkhos''). ''Meaning'': "beak", "snout". *:Examples: '' Rhamphorhynchus'' ("prow beak"); ''
Aspidorhynchus ''Aspidorhynchus'' (from el, ᾰ̓σπίς 'shield' and el, ῥύγχος 'snout') is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Fossils have been found in Europe and Antarctica. ''Aspidorhynchus'' was a ...
'' ( "shield snout"); ''
Ornithorhynchus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotyp ...
'' ("bird beak"); '' rhynchosaur'' ("beaked lizard") *sarco-: Pronunciation: /sɑːrkʊ/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek σάρξ (''sárx''). ''Meaning'': flesh. Used for flesh-eating animals or animals and plants with fleshy parts *:Examples: ''
Sarcophilus ''Sarcophilus'' is a genus of carnivorous marsupial best known for its only living member, the Tasmanian devil. Sarcophilus is Latin - meaning 'flesh-loving'. There are four species of ''Sarcophilus''. '' S. laniarius'' and '' S. moornaensis'' ...
'' ("flesh-loving"); Sarcopterygii ("fleshy fin"); '' Sarcosuchus'' ("flesh crocodile") *saur, sauro-, -saurus: Pronunciation: /sɔər/, /sɔəroʊ/, /sɔərəs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek ('). ''Meaning'': lizard. Used for dinosaurs and other extinct reptiles. *:Examples:
Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
("terrible lizard")
Mosasaur Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Greek ' meaning 'lizard') comprise a group of extinct, large marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous. Their first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on th ...
("
Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
lizard"), ''
Tyrannosaurus ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosa ...
'' ("tyrant lizard"), '' Allosaurus'' ("different lizard"), '' Sauroposeidon'' ("
Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...
lizard") *sino-: ''Pronunciation''; /saɪnoʊ̯/. ''Origin'': la, Sina. ''Meaning'': from China. Used for ancient and other civilizations. *:Examples: ''
Sinornithosaurus ''Sinornithosaurus'' (derived from a combination of Latin and Greek, meaning 'Chinese bird-lizard') is a genus of feathered dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the early Cretaceous Period (late Barremian) of the Yixian Formation in what is now China. It ...
''; ("Chinese bird-lizard"); '' Sinosauropteryx'' ("Chinese lizard wing"); '' Sinoceratops'' ("Chinese horned face") *smilo-, -smilus: ''Pronunciation'': /smaɪloʊ/, /smaɪləs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek σμίλη ('). ''Meaning'': a carving knife or chisel. Used for animals with sabre teeth. *:Examples: '' Smilodon'' ("knife tooth"); ''
Smilosuchus ''Smilosuchus'' (meaning "chisel crocodile") is an extinct genus of leptosuchomorph parasuchid from the Late Triassic of North America. History The type species was first described in 1995 as a replacement generic name for ''Leptosuchus g ...
'' ("knife crocodile"); '' Thylacosmilus'' ("pouched knife"); ''
Xenosmilus ''Xenosmilus hodsonae'' (from Greek, , ''xenos'', "strange" + , ''smilē'', " chisel" ) is an extinct species of the Machairodontinae, or saber-toothed cats. Description The species name ''hodsonae'' originates from Debra Hodson, the wife of ...
'' ("strange knife") *-spondylus: Pronunciation: /spɒndələs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek σπόνδυλος ('). ''Meaning'': vertebra. *:Examples: ''
Streptospondylus ''Streptospondylus'' (meaning "reversed vertebra") is a genus of tetanuran theropod dinosaur known from the Late Jurassic period of France, 161 million years ago. It was a medium-sized predator with an estimated length of 6 meters (19.5  ...
'' ("backwards vertebra"); '' Massospondylus'' ("longer vertebra"); ''
Bothriospondylus ''Bothriospondylus'' ("excavated vertebra") is a dubious genus of neosauropod sauropod dinosaur. It lived during the Late Jurassic. Discovery and naming The type species, ''Bothriospondylus suffossus'', was described by Richard Owen in 1875. The ...
'' ("excavated vertebra") *squali-, squalo-: Pronunciation: /skweɪlɪ/, /skweɪloʊ/ . ''Origin'': Latin squalus. ''Meaning'': a kind of sea fish. Used for shark like creatures. *:Examples: '' Squalodon'' ("shark tooth") ''
Squaliformes The Squaliformes are an order (biology), order of sharks that includes about 126 species in seven families. Members of the order have two dorsal fins, which usually possess spines, they usually have a sharp head, no anal fin or nictitating me ...
'' ("shark form"); ''
Squalicorax ''Squalicorax'', commonly known as the crow shark, is a genus of extinct lamniform shark known to have lived during the Cretaceous period. The genus had a global distribution in the Late Cretaceous epoch. Multiple species within this genus are c ...
'' ("shark raven") ''
Squalomorphii Squalomorphii is a superorder of cartilaginous fishes, generally characterized by lacking traits such as an anal fin, nictitating membrane, or suborbital shelves in the cranium. Also called squalea, or squalean sharks. There are about 163 livi ...
'' ("shark shape") *stego-, -stega: ''Pronunciation'': /stɛgoʊ/, /stɛgə/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek στέγη ('). ''Meaning'': roof. Used for armoured or plated animals. *:Examples: '' Stegosaurus'' ("roofed lizard"); ''
Ichthyostega ''Ichthyostega'' (from el, ἰχθῦς , 'fish' and el, στέγη , 'roof') is an extinct genus of limbed tetrapodomorphs from the Late Devonian of Greenland. It was among the earliest four-limbed vertebrates in the fossil record, and was on ...
'' ("roofed fish"); '' Acanthostega'' ("spine roof") *strepto-: ''Pronunciation'': /streptoʊ/, /strepto/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek στρεπτός ('). ''Meaning'': twisted, bent. *:Examples: Streptophyta ("bent plant"); '' Streptococcus'' ("twisted granule"); ''
Streptospondylus ''Streptospondylus'' (meaning "reversed vertebra") is a genus of tetanuran theropod dinosaur known from the Late Jurassic period of France, 161 million years ago. It was a medium-sized predator with an estimated length of 6 meters (19.5  ...
'' ("twisted vertebra") *-stoma, -stome, -stomus: ''Pronunciation'': /stoʊma/, /stoʊm/, /stoʊməs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek στόμα (''stóma''). ''Meaning'': mouth. *:Examples:
deuterostome Deuterostomia (; in Greek) are animals typically characterized by their anus forming before their mouth during embryonic development. The group's sister clade is Protostomia, animals whose digestive tract development is more varied. Some exampl ...
(second mouth); ''
Gnathostoma ''Gnathostoma'' is a genus of parasitic nematodes. The species ''Gnathostoma spinigerum'' and ''Gnathostoma hispidum'' can cause gnathostomiasis. Neurognathostomiasis occurs in the USA. ''Gnathostoma binucleatum'' (which is native to the Ameri ...
'' ("jaw mouth") ''
Anastomus The openbill storks or openbills are two species of stork (family '' Ciconiidae'') in the genus ''Anastomus''. They are large wading birds characterized by large bills, the mandibles of which do not meet except at the tip. This feature develops o ...
'' ("on mouth") *sucho-, -suchus: ''Pronunciation'': /sjuːkoʊ/, /sjuːkəs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek σοῦχος (''soûkhos''). ''Meaning:'': Originally the Ancient Greek name for the Ancient Egyptian crocodile-headed god, Sobek. Used to denote crocodilians or crocodile-like animals. *:Examples: '' Deinosuchus'' ("terrible crocodile") '' Anatosuchus'' ("duck crocodile"), ''
Suchomimus ''Suchomimus'' (meaning "crocodile mimic") is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived between 125 and 112 million years ago in what is now Niger, during the Aptian to early Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous period. It was named and ...
'' ("crocodile mimic") *tauro-: /taərəs/. Origin: la, taurus. ''Meaning'': bull. *:Examples: '' Taurotragus'' ("male goat-bull"); ''
Taurovenator ''Taurovenator'' is a medium-sized carcharodontosaurid theropod from the late Cretaceous of Argentina. Discovered by Matias Motta in 2005 and formally described in 2016, it is represented by an isolated right postorbital. Etymology The ''tauro ...
'' ("bull hunter"); '' Carnotaurus'' ("flesh bull") *-teuthis: ''Pronunciation'': /tjuːθɪs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek τευθίς (''teuthís''). ''Meaning:'' squid. Used for
squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...
s and similar
cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head ...
s. *:Examples: ''
Gonioteuthis ''Gonioteuthis'' (meaning ''narrow squid'' or ''slim squid'') is a genus of belemnite, an extinct group of cephalopods. It grew to a body length (excluding tentacles) of 8 inches (20 centimeters) and fed on small marine animals. Fossils of ...
'' ("narrow squid") '' Architeuthis'' ("ruling squid") '' Vampyroteuthis'' ("vampire squid"); ''
Cylindroteuthis ''Cylindroteuthis'' is a genus of belemnite that lived from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in Asia, Europe, North America, and New Zealand. Taxonomical history ''Cylindroteuthis'' was first described in ...
'' ("cylindrical squid") *thero-, -therium. ''Pronunciation'': /θɛroʊ/, /θiːrɪəm/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek θήρ (''thḗr''). ''Meaning'': beast. Used for supposedly monstrous animals. The suffix "-therium" is often used to denote extinct
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s. *:Examples: theropod ("beast foot"), ''
Deinotherium ''Deinotherium'' was a large elephant-like proboscidean that appeared in the Middle Miocene and survived until the Early Pleistocene. Although superficially resembling modern elephants, they had notably more flexible necks, limbs adapted to a mo ...
'' ("terrible beast") ''
Megatherium ''Megatherium'' ( ; from Greek () 'great' + () 'beast') is an extinct genus of ground sloths endemic to South America that lived from the Early Pliocene through the end of the Pleistocene. It is best known for the elephant-sized type species ' ...
'' ("big beast") '' Brontotherium'' ("thunder beast"); '' Uintatherium'' ("beast of the Uinta mountains") *thylac-: ''Pronunciation'': /θaɪlæk/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek θύλακος (''thúlakos''). ''Meaning'': a sack. In the sense of "pouch", used for
marsupials Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...
. *:Examples:
Thylacine The thylacine ( , or , also ) (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The last known live animal was captured in 1930 in Tasman ...
("pouched one"); '' Thylacoleo'' ("pouched lion"); '' Thylacosmilus'' ("pouched knife") *tri-: ''Pronunciation'': /traɪ/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek τρία (''tría''). ''Meaning'': three. *:Examples: ''
Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivore, herbivorous Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 m ...
'' ("three-horned face"); ''
Triconodon ''Triconodon'' ("three coned tooth") is a genus of extinct mammal from the Early Cretaceous of England and France with two known species: ''T. mordax'' and ''T. averianovi''. First described in 1859 by Richard Owen,R. Owen. 1859. Palaeontology ...
'' ("three coned teeth");
trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the At ...
("three lobes") *titano-, -titan: ''Pronunciation'': /taɪtænoʊ/, /taɪtən/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek Τιτάν, Τιτᾶνος (''Titán'', ''Titânos''). ''Meaning'':
Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...
, of the Titan, respectively. Used for large animals. *:Examples: ''
Titanosaurus ''Titanosaurus'' (; ) is a dubious genus of sauropod dinosaurs, first described by Richard Lydekker in 1877.R. Lydekker. (1877). Notices of new and other Vertebrata from Indian Tertiary and Secondary rocks. ''Records of the Geological Survey of I ...
'' ("Titan lizard"); '' Giraffatitan'' ("giraffe Titan"); ''
Anatotitan ''Edmontosaurus annectens'' (meaning "connected lizard from Edmonton") is a species of flat-headed and duck-billed ( hadrosaurid) dinosaur from the very end of the Cretaceous Period, in what is now North America. Remains of ''E. annectens'' have ...
'' ("duck Titan"); ''
Titanotherium ''Megacerops'' ("large-horned face", from '' méga-'' "large" + '' kéras'' "horn" + '' ōps'' "face") is an extinct genus of the prehistoric odd-toed ungulate (hoofed mammal) family Brontotheriidae, an extinct group of rhinoceros-like browsers ...
'' ("Titan beast"); ''
Titanoboa ''Titanoboa'' (; ) is an extinct genus of very large snakes that lived in what is now La Guajira in northeastern Colombia. They could grow up to , perhaps even long and reach a body mass of . This snake lived during the Middle to Late Paleoc ...
'' ("Titanic boa") *tyranno-, -tyrannus: ''Pronunciation'': /taɪrænoʊ/, /taɪrænəs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek τύραννος (''túrannos''). ''Meaning'': tyrant. Used for animals similar to ''
Tyrannosaurus ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosa ...
''. *:Examples: '' Zhuchengtyrannus'' ("Zhucheng tyrant"); ''
Tyrannosaurus ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosa ...
'' ("tyrant lizard"); ''
Nanotyrannus ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...
'' ("dwarf tyrant"); '' Tyrannotitan'' ("Titanic tyrant"); ''
Sinotyrannus ''Sinotyrannus'' (meaning "Chinese tyrant") is a genus of large basal tyrannosauroid dinosaur, known from a single incomplete fossil specimen including a partial skull, from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning, China. Specifical ...
'' ("Chinese tyrant"); ''
Suskityrannus ''Suskityrannus'' (meaning "coyote tyrant", ''suski'' meaning "coyote" in Zuni) is a genus of small tyrannosauroid theropod from the Late Cretaceous in southern Laramidia. It contains a single species, ''Suskityrannus hazelae,'' believed to h ...
'' ("coyote tyrant") *-urus, -uro-: ''Pronunciation'': /uːrəs/, /uːroʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, οὐρά (''ourá''). ''Meaning'': tail. *:Examples: ''
Dasyurus Quolls (; genus ''Dasyurus'') are carnivorous marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea. They are primarily nocturnal and spend most of the day in a den. Of the six species of quoll, four are found in Australia and two in New Guinea. Anoth ...
'' ("hairy tail"); Coelurosauria ("hollow tail lizards"); '' Uromastyx'' ("tail scourge") *veloci-: ''Pronunciation'': /vəlɑsɪ/. ''Origin'': Latin ''velox''. ''Meaning'': speed. *:Example: ''
Velociraptor ''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the pa ...
'' ("quick thief"); '' Velocisaurus'' ("swift lizard") *-venator: ''Pronunciation'': /vɛnətər/. ''Origin'': Latin ''venator''. ''Meaning'': hunter. *:Examples: '' Afrovenator'' ("African hunter"); ''
Juravenator ''Juravenator'' is a genus of small (75 cm long) coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur (although a 2020 study proposed it to be a hatchling megalosauroid), which lived in the area which would someday become the top of the Franconian Jura of Germa ...
'' (" Jura hunter"); ''
Scorpiovenator ''Skorpiovenator'' ("scorpion hunter") is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian to Turonian) Huincul Formation of Argentina. It is one of the most complete and informative abelisaurids yet known, describ ...
'' ("scorpion hunter"); ''
Neovenator ''Neovenator'' (nee-o-ven-a-tor meaning "new hunter") is a genus of carcharodontosaurian theropod dinosaur. It is known from several skeletons found in the Early Cretaceous (Barremian~130-125 million years ago) Wessex Formation on the south coa ...
'' ("new hunter"); ''
Concavenator ''Concavenator'' is an extinct genus of theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 130 million years ago during the early Cretaceous period (Barremian age). The type species is ''C. corcovatus''; ''Concavenator corcovatus'' means " Cuenca hunter ...
'' (" Cuenca hunter") *xeno-: ''Pronunciation'': /zinoʊ/. Origin: Ancient Greek ξένος (''xénos''). ''Meaning'': strange, stranger. Used for organisms that exhibit unusual traits for their class. *:Examples: ''
Xenosmilus ''Xenosmilus hodsonae'' (from Greek, , ''xenos'', "strange" + , ''smilē'', " chisel" ) is an extinct species of the Machairodontinae, or saber-toothed cats. Description The species name ''hodsonae'' originates from Debra Hodson, the wife of ...
'' ("strange knife"); ''
Xenotarsosaurus ''Xenotarsosaurus'' is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous of Argentina. Discovery In 1980 geologist Juan Carlos Sciutto discovered a rich fossil site six kilometres north of the Ocho Hermanos ranch in ...
'' ("strange ankled lizard"); ''
Xenopsitta ''Xenopsitta'' is a prehistoric parrot genus known from a fossil tarsometatarsus in early Miocene deposits at Merkur, in western Bohemia of the Czech Republic, and described by Jiri Mlikovsky in 1998. The type species is ''Xenopsitta fejfari''. ...
'' ("strange parrot"); '' Xenocyon'' ("strange dog"); ''
Xenokeryx ''Xenokeryx'' ("strange horn" in Greek) is an extinct genus of ruminant known from the Miocene of Europe. The type species, ''Xenokeryx amidalae'', was recovered from central Spain and bears a unique T-shaped protrusion from the top of the head. ...
'' ("strange horn"); ''
Xenostega ''Xenostega'' is a genus of moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximatel ...
'' ("strange roof"); ''
Xenohyla ''Xenohyla'' is a genus of tree frogs in the family Hylidae that is endemic to xeric habitats of coastal Brazil, with '' Xenohyla eugenioi'' native to the State of Bahia and the State of Sergipe, and '' Xenohyla truncata'' native to the State o ...
'' ("strange hynadae"); '' Xenozancla'' ("strange animal"); ''
Xenodermus ''Xenodermus javanicus'', also known as the dragon snake, Javan tubercle snake, Javan mudsnake, or rough-backed litter snake, is a small non-venomous, semi-fossorial snake species belonging to the monotypic genus ''Xenodermus''. This species is b ...
'' ("strange skin") *-zoon, -zoa: ''Pronunciation'': /zoʊɑːn/, /zoʊə/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek ζῷον (''zōion''). ''Meaning'': animal. Used for broad categories of animals, or in certain names of animals. *:Examples:
Metazoa Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...
("encompassing animals"); Parazoa ("near animals");
Ecdysozoa Ecdysozoa () is a group of protostome animals, including Arthropoda (insects, chelicerata, crustaceans, and myriapods), Nematoda, and several smaller phyla. They were first defined by Aguinaldo ''et al.'' in 1997, based mainly on phylogenetic tr ...
("moulting animals"); '' Yunnanozoon'' ("animal from
Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
"); ''
Yuyuanozoon ''Yuyuanozoon magnificissimi'' is the largest known vetulicolian, with the holotype (and only known specimen) measuring about 202 millimeters in length. In life, it would have been an egg-shaped animal with a long cylindrical tail. The body is di ...
'' ("animal from Yu Yuan")


See also

*
List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names This list of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names is intended to help those unfamiliar with classical languages to understand and remember the scientific names of organisms. The binomial nomenclature used for animals and plants i ...
*
List of Greek and Latin roots in English The English language uses many Greek and Latin roots, stems, and prefixes. These roots are listed alphabetically on three pages: * Greek and Latin roots from A to G * Greek and Latin roots from H to O * Greek and Latin roots from P to Z. Som ...
*
List of Latin words with English derivatives This is a list of Latin words with derivatives in English (and other modern languages). Ancient orthography did not distinguish between ''i'' and ''j'' or between ''u'' and ''v''. Many modern works distinguish u from v but not i from j. In this ...
* List of medical roots, suffixes and prefixes * Latin names of cities {{DEFAULTSORT:Taxonomic affixes * Lists of prehistoric animal genera (alphabetic) Taxonomic affixes