meyerae

Meyerae is a taxonomic epithet used in the scientific names of various organisms to honor a person with the surname Meyer. It is not a genus or higher taxon; rather, it appears as the specific epithet in a binomial name, paired with a genus name.

Etymology and form of the epithet: The ending -ae is a Latin genitive suffix commonly used in taxonomy to indicate attribution to a female honoree. As an epithet, meyerae is typically treated as a fixed noun in apposition or as a Latinized name that remains unchanged in different genera. Variants such as meyeri or meyerorum exist to honor male individuals or multiple honorees, depending on the author and the relevant nomenclatural code.

usage across taxa: The meyerae epithet appears in names across diverse biological groups, including plants, animals, and fungi, whenever the author intends to recognize a person named Meyer who contributed to the discovery, study, or preservation of the organism. Because it is an eponym rather than a descriptive term, the epithet does not reflect a feature of the organism but acknowledges a person associated with it.

nomenclatural notes: In zoological and botanical nomenclature, the creation of eponymous epithets follows codes such as the ICZN and ICN. The choice of -ae, -i, or other endings depends on the honoree’s gender and the linguistic conventions of the code, and some epithets are treated as indeclinable proper nouns. For precise formation, editors consult the applicable code and the original publication.

See also: Eponym (biology), Taxonomic nomenclature.