indicatus

Indicatus is a Latin adjective used in scientific naming as a species epithet. It derives from indicare, meaning to indicate or point out, with the suffix -atus forming indicatus, which can be translated as indicated, shown, or noted.

In taxonomy, indicatus is a relatively common epithet across plants, animals, and other organisms. When employed in a binomial name, it signals that the describer wished to draw attention to a particular feature, diagnostic trait, or the fact that the species was noted or indicated in a specific context. It does not denote a taxonomic rank itself but serves as part of the species name within a genus.

The use of indicatus as a species epithet dates to the development of modern taxonomic practice and appears in both zoological and botanical nomenclature. As with other Latin epithets, indicatus must agree in gender with the generic name in grammatical form.

Outside formal nomenclature, indicatus can appear in classical or scholarly Latin passages with its original meaning of “indicated” or “pointed out.” In contemporary usage, its occurrence is largely confined to scientific names, historical notes, or scholarly Latin phrases rather than everyday language.

See also: Latin in biological nomenclature; species epithet; taxonomic naming conventions.