Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun taxonomy An
unofficial name (often the first) for a newspecies that may or may not be officially recognized
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Scarlet ibis, Eudocimus ruber formerly, Guara rubra; protonym, Scolopax rubra, also known locally as the gaurá, photographed at Belém, at the mouth of the Amazon, Brazil.
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Henslow's sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii (formerly, Nemospiza henslowii and Passerherbulus henslowii; protonym, Emberiza henslowii), photographed at Konza Prairie Biological Station, near Manhattan, Kansas (USA).
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Black-capped kingfisher, Halcyon pileata protonym, Alcedo pileata, also known as the Miyako kingfisher, photographed at Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.
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Olive-backed Sunbird, Cinnyris jugularis formerly, Nectarinia jugularis; protonym; Certhia jugularis, also known as the yellow-bellied sunbird, photographed at Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah, Malaysia.
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Black-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax (protonym, Ardea Nycticorax), also known as the American/common night heron, the quawk or quark (an onomatopoeic term) or simply as the night heron, photographed at Texas City Dike, Texas (USA).
Mystery bird: black-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax 2011
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Ethiopian cisticola, Cisticola lugubris (formerly, Cisticola galactotes lugubris; protonym, Sylvia (Cisticola) lugubris), also known as the Abyssinian black-backed cisticola, photographed at the Gerfasa Reservoir, Ethiopia (Africa).
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Immature red-bellied woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus (formerly, Centurus carolinus; protonym, Picus carolinus), also known as the zebra woodpecker or the zebraback, photographed at Houston, Texas (USA).
Mystery bird: red-bellied woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus 2011
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Immature red-bellied woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus (formerly, Centurus carolinus; protonym, Picus carolinus), also known as the zebra woodpecker or the zebraback, photographed at Houston, Texas (USA).
Mystery bird: red-bellied woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus 2011
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Scissor-tailed flycatcher, Tyrannus forficatus fomerly, Milvulus forficatus; protonym, Muscivora forficata, also known as the Texas bird-of-paradise and the swallow-tailed flycatcher, photographed at Manhattan, Kansas.
Mystery bird: scissor-tailed flycatcher, Tyrannus forficatus 2011
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Black-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax (protonym, Ardea Nycticorax), also known as the American/common night heron, the quawk or quark (an onomatopoeic term) or simply as the night heron, photographed at Texas City Dike, Texas (USA).
Mystery bird: black-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax 2011
mialuthien commented on the word protonym
protonym – the first person or thing of the name; that from which another is named
July 19, 2008