Tegundarheiti

Tegundarheiti is the Icelandic term for the specific epithet in binomial nomenclature, the two-part scientific name used for living organisms. In a species name, the genus and the tegundarheiti together identify one species, for example Homo sapiens, where Homo is the genus and sapiens is the tegundarheiti. The tegundarheiti alone does not name a species; it must accompany its genus.

Formation and conventions vary by biological group, but several common rules apply. The tegundarheiti is typically Latin or latinized, written in lower case, and the full binomial name is usually set in italics in print. The epithet may describe a feature of the organism, indicate a habitat or geographic association, or honor a person. Epithets are often derived from Latin or Greek roots, but may also be named after places or local terms.

Taxonomic rules governing tegundarheiti are provided by the relevant nomenclatural codes, such as the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) or the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). A given genus may contain multiple species with different tegundarheiti, while the same tegundarheiti can appear in different genera (that is, sapiens can occur as a tegundarheiti in another genus).

Usage and purpose: the tegundarheiti helps distinguish closely related species within a genus and provides a stable, international name that transcends local languages. In scientific writing, the genus name may be abbreviated after the first use (H. sapiens), but the tegundarheiti itself remains part of the formal species designation.