mississippiensis

Mississippiensis is a Latinized species epithet used in biological nomenclature to indicate origin or association with the state of Mississippi or the Mississippi River basin. It is an adjective derived from Mississippi, joined to a genus name to form a binomial scientific name. The epithet is most commonly found in zoological and botanical taxa; it does not denote a taxonomic rank by itself.

In practice, mississippiensis signifies that the species was first described from Mississippi or is strongly associated with that geographic region. Because many organisms range beyond the state, the epithet is historical, reflecting collection locality or distribution known at the time of naming.

A widely known example is Alligator mississippiensis, the American alligator, native to the southeastern United States and historically associated with Mississippi habitats. The pattern is used across many taxa, sometimes with habitat or origin notes in the species description.

In formal use, the spelling is standard as mississippiensis and can appear in various genera. It does not imply relatedness among differently named species beyond shared geographic origin; each species is defined by its own taxonomic description.

See also: binomial nomenclature, Alligator mississippiensis, Mississippi River, Mississippi.