carteri

Carteri is a Latinized species epithet used in the scientific names of many organisms to honor a person with the surname Carter. In binomial nomenclature, carteri is the masculine singular form of the Latin genitive meaning “of Carter”; the feminine singular form is carterae, and the plural form is carterorum. The epithet is not a description of a trait or geography but an eponym that signals the taxonomist’s tribute to a Carter.

Taxonomic usage: carteri appears across diverse groups, including plants, insects, fishes, reptiles, birds, and fungi. Because it is an epithet rather than a genus or higher-level name, there is no single clade or lineage associated with all carteri names; each instance refers to a different taxon described by scientists in different times and places.

Interpretation and notes: The identity of the specific Carter honored is not always clear from the epithet alone; the original publication or etymology notes typically explain the reason. The same epithet can occur independently in unrelated genera, and different taxa may commemorate different Carters.

In summary, carteri is a common eponymic epithet in taxonomy used to memorialize individuals named Carter, applied to numerous species across many life forms without implying any shared biological characteristics among them.