lamarckii

Lamarckii is not a single taxon but a Latin epithet used in the scientific names of many species to honor the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829). In binomial nomenclature, lamarckii is the second part of a species name and is written in lower case. The epithet reflects a masculine patronym form, derived from Lamarck’s name, and is used across a wide range of organisms.

The epithet lamarckii appears in zoological and botanical naming to acknowledge Lamarck’s contributions to natural history. It does not denote a specific organism by itself; rather, it accompanies a genus name to identify a particular species. Because it is a patronym, the exact species identity depends on the accompanying genus.

Spelling and usage considerations include that lamarckii is a conventional Latinized form. Older literature may show variant spellings, but lamarckii is the standard in contemporary taxonomic records. In most cases, the epithet remains the same even when a species is reassigned to a different genus, preserving the historical reference to Lamarck.

See also: Jean-Baptiste Lamarck; Patronyms in taxonomy; Latinized species epithets.