alternatus

Alternatus is a Latin adjective used in biological nomenclature. The masculine form is alternatus, with alternata and alternatum as the feminine and neuter forms, respectively. It derives from alternare, meaning to alternate or to take turns. In taxonomy, alternatus is most commonly encountered as a species epithet—the second, lowercased word in a binomial name—and is used to describe a trait that appears in an alternating fashion or in an alternating series within the organism or its morphology.

In practice, the epithet alternatus appears across diverse groups of organisms, including plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms. It may refer to an alternating leaf arrangement, banding or color patterns that recur in sequence, alternating segments or structures, or other periodic features visible in the organism's anatomy or development. The use of alternatus is descriptive rather than geographic or patronymic.

As with other Latin epithets, alternatus is not a stand-alone taxon and does not indicate rank beyond being part of a species name. When written formally, the genus name is capitalized and the species epithet is lowercased (e.g., Genus alternatus). The epithet must agree in gender with the genus name, so alternata or alternatum may appear in related usages. Taxonomic names can change with revisions, so consulting current databases or literature is advisable to confirm the status and spelling of a given name.