laboratorius

Laboratorius is a Latin adjective meaning "of the laboratory" or "belonging to a laboratory." In scientific usage, it is sometimes used as a descriptive epithet in the Latinized names of organisms and other taxa to indicate an association with a laboratory setting, a laboratory-borne discovery, or an attribution to a particular laboratory or research institution.

Etymologically, laboratorius derives from the Latin noun laboratorium (laboratory) with the adjectival suffix -arius, yielding a masculine form laboratorius; feminine and neuter forms vary to agree with the gender of the genus. In taxonomic practice, adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the genus they modify and are governed by the rules of the relevant nomenclatural codes (ICZN for animals, ICN for plants).

The use of laboratorius as a specific epithet is relatively limited and typically appears in descriptive, provisional, or fictional names, or in informal contexts. When employed in formal nomenclature, the epithet must be properly published and accompanied by a description that satisfies the applicable code’s requirements. While laboratorio- or laboratorius-based names can convey origin or association with a laboratory, they do not, by themselves, indicate phylogenetic relationships or taxonomic rank beyond the usual scope of a species epithet. See also: binomial nomenclature, Latin grammar in taxonomy, Latin adjectival endings.