Nuttingi

Nuttingi is a Latinized epithet used in scientific nomenclature to honor an individual with the surname Nutting. It is not a standalone taxon, geographic name, or organism group. Instead, Nuttingi appears as the second element in species names across various genera, attached to a wide range of organisms. The epithet signifies commemoration rather than shared traits, habitat, or behavior, and its meaning is tied to the person being honored in the original description.

Etymology and form: The form Nuttingi follows a standard pattern in biological naming, where patronyms are rendered in Latin grammar. The suffix -i typically indicates a masculine honoree in Latinized epithets; in some contexts, similar epithets may take -ae or other endings to reflect gender or grammatical rules, but Nuttingi specifically signals a masculine name origin.

Taxonomic usage: Because Nuttingi is an epithet rather than a taxon, there is no single organismal group associated with the term. It can occur in zoological or botanical names in different genera, wherever a taxonomist chooses to honor someone named Nutting in the species description. The exact individuals honored by Nuttingi epithets differ across publications and time periods.

See also: Nutting (surname); taxonomic nomenclature; Latin and binomial nomenclature; patronyms in biology.