patagonicus

Patagonicus is a Latin-derived species epithet used in biological nomenclature to denote a connection with Patagonia, a geographic region at the southern end of South America spanning parts of Argentina and Chile. The term patagonicus (masculine), patagonica (feminine), and patagonicum (neuter) are the standard gendered forms of the adjective in Latin and are used to agree with the gender of the genus to which the species belongs. When patagonicus is used in a scientific name, it indicates that the species was described from Patagonia or is strongly associated with that region, though it does not necessarily imply endemism to a single locality.

The epithet appears across a variety of taxa, including birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, and plants. In many cases the name reflects the collector’s locality rather than the current distribution, and modern revisions may reinterpret type localities or ranges. The use of patagonicus is one of several region-based epithets that help convey geographic provenance in taxonomy.

Patagonia itself is a sparsely populated region spanning southern Argentina and Chile, characterized by features such as steppe-like plains, the Patagonian Andes, and coastal ecosystems. The name patagonicus thus serves as a shorthand geographic marker within the broader Latin naming tradition. See also related epithets such as patagonica and patagonicum.