Definition of tautonym in English:
tautonym
nounˈtɔːtə(ʊ)nɪmˈtôdəˌnim
Zoology Botany A scientific name in which the same word is used for both genus and species, for example Vulpes vulpes (the red fox).
Example sentencesExamples
- The taxonomic Latin for ‘quahog’ is Mercenaria mercenaria - a tautonym that pays tribute to the use of quahog shells as wampum.
- In an attempt to gain acceptance for the use of duplicate binomials, MacMillan proposed the tautonym A. apios.
- There are 82 species of birds whose scientific names are tautonyms - that is, birds for which the two parts of the scientific name are the same.
- This would have had the effect of making the name Z. zizyphus a tautonym.
- Bird names in which the genus and species are identical except for capitalisation are apparently called tautonyms.
Derivatives
noun
Botany Zoology Castor fiber Linnaeus, 1758 is therefore the type species of Castor by Linnaean tautonymy.
Example sentencesExamples
- Instead we should look to Speusippus' analysis of tautonymy and heteronymy and bypass eponymy altogether.
- The main difference is that the animal code allows tautonymy (using the same name for genus and species, such as Natrix natrix), while the plant code prohibits it.
- For previously proposed generic names, the following additional information is required (in this order): nature of type designation (e. g., original designation, monotypy, absolute tautonymy, etc).
- The type of Amphidesma must, by tautonymy, be regarded as A. donailla.