alatus

Alatus is a Latin adjective meaning winged or possessing wings. It derives from alae, “wings,” and appears in taxonomic names with gendered forms: alatus (masculine), alata (feminine), and alatum (neuter). In biological nomenclature it is widely used as a descriptive epithet in species names to signal the presence of wings or wing-like structures. It is not a taxon in itself; rather, it describes a trait observed in the organism.

The usage spans diverse groups, including insects, birds, bats, and occasionally plants with wing-like features. Because Latin adjectives agree with the gender of the genus, the form alatus appears with masculine genera, alata with feminine genera, and alatum with neuter genera. In practice, many different, unrelated species bear the epithet alatus, reflecting winged morphology rather than any shared ancestry.

Beyond taxonomy, the word appears in classical Latin texts as a general descriptor and can be encountered in contexts that reference winged characteristics, including heraldic or descriptive usages. In modern taxonomic work, the exact meaning of alatus for a given species is best understood by consulting the original species description or a taxonomic database, which clarifies the morphological basis for the epithet in that organism.