Nasutus

Nasutus is a Latin adjective used in scientific nomenclature to describe a beaked or long-nosed feature. It derives from nasus, meaning nose, and is formed with the suffix -utus. In Latin, the word appears in gendered forms: nasutus (masculine), nasuta (feminine), and nasutum (neuter). In taxonomic names, nasutus functions as a descriptive epithet rather than as a genus or higher taxon.

In taxonomy, nasutus is commonly employed to indicate a conspicuous beak-like morphology or an elongated nose-like structure in a species. The epithet can be applied across various groups, including birds, insects, and plants, to signal a characteristic used in the original description. Because Latin adjectives must agree with the gender and number of the noun they modify, the form of nasutus is adjusted to match the grammatical gender of the genus name it accompanies.

Nasutus does not identify a distinct taxonomic group or clade; instead, it appears in many unrelated taxa as part of the species name. Its usage highlights a feature that field researchers or taxonomists considered notable when the species was first described.

See also: nasus (the Latin noun for nose), beak, taxonomic nomenclature, Latin in scientific names.