limitatus

Limitatus is a Latin adjective meaning limited, restricted, or bounded. In the context of biological nomenclature, limitatus is commonly used as a species epithet within binomial names to denote a particular characteristic or distribution that is narrower than related taxa. The form used in a name must agree in gender with the genus; limitatus is masculine nominative singular, limitata is feminine, and limitatum is neuter, so different species epithets may appear depending on the genus.

Species epithets are descriptive rather than taxonomic ranks, so limitatus does not designate a clade or lineage. Instead it conveys a descriptive attribute observed by the describer, such as a restricted geographic range, a relatively small size, or a characteristic that appears bounded or limited compared with other taxa in the group.

The use of Latin (and sometimes Greek) descriptors follows the rules of the relevant nomenclatural codes: the ICZN for animals, and the ICN (International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants) for plants and fungi. Descriptive epithets like limitatus should be chosen carefully to avoid redundancy or ambiguity and must be published with a proper description and a designated type specimen.

Because limitatus appears in numerous, unrelated taxa, there is no single taxon known by that name. Instead, it is one of many Latin epithets that recur across biological nomenclature to convey a qualitative impression about the named organism.