parvidens

Parvidens is a Latin adjective used in biological nomenclature as a species epithet. The term derives from parvus, meaning small, and dens, meaning tooth, and it literally signals a trait described in the species’ diagnosis as having small teeth or dentition. In practice, parvidens is not a stand-alone taxon; it appears in combination with a genus name as the second part of a binomial scientific name and may take different grammatical forms to agree with the genus gender.

The epithet is descriptive rather than taxonomic in itself, indicating a morphological feature rather than a higher-level classification. It is used across multiple groups in zoology and botany whenever a describer judges the feature noteworthy enough to contribute to the species’ name. Because Latin adjectives are varied to match gender, number, and case, parvidens can appear in related forms to align with the genus it accompanies.

As with other epithets, parvidens reflects a traditional practice of Latinizing species descriptions to convey diagnostic information succinctly within a formal naming system. Modern naming follows international nomenclatural codes that govern the formation, spelling, and agreement of such epithets, ensuring consistency and stability in scientific naming.

See also: Latin in zoological nomenclature, botanical Latin, binomial nomenclature, species epithet.