hutchinsoni

Hutchinsoni is a Latinized species epithet used in the scientific names of various organisms to honor a person named Hutchinson. It is not a taxon itself, but part of the binomial name in zoology, botany, microbiology, and paleontology. The epithet signals eponymy rather than any shared biological characteristics among the organisms that bear it. The ending -i is a common Latinization for male honorees; however, epithet endings vary with gender and language conventions, resulting in forms such as hutchinsonii for some honorees, or hutchinsoniae when honoring a woman, and other variations in different taxonomic codes. The same epithet can appear in many genera, yielding unrelated species across different lineages.

Because many researchers independently described species named after Hutchinson, there are numerous instances of Hutchinsoni in the taxonomic literature, spanning living taxa and fossil taxa. Each occurrence is identified by its genus name and author citation, which clarifies which Hutchinson the epithet commemorates and which organism is being referred to. In modern practice, eponymous epithets are governed by the rules of the relevant nomenclatural code (such as the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature or the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants) to ensure consistent formation and capitalization.

See also: Taxonomic nomenclature, Eponym, List of eponymous plant and animal names.