Pulcher

Pulcher is a Latin adjective meaning "beautiful" or "fine-looking." In taxonomy, the term is used as an epithet in the scientific names of many species across animals and plants. As with other Latin adjectives, pulcher must agree in gender with the genus: pulcher for masculine, pulchra for feminine, and pulchrum for neuter nouns.

In practice, pulcher appears in binomials to highlight features deemed aesthetically notable, such as striking coloration, ornamentation, or an attractive habitus. The epithet is not indicative of a single taxon; rather, it occurs across a wide range of groups and does not imply relatedness among different species that share the epithet.

The use of pulcher in names reflects the traditional Latinization of scientific nomenclature established by Linnaeus and continued by modern taxonomists. Beyond its taxonomic role, the word appears in classical Latin literature as a common descriptive term for beauty, and it continues to appear in historical and contemporary descriptions of natural history.