rodricensis

Rodricensis is a Latin-derived species epithet used in the scientific names of organisms to signal a connection with a place or person associated with the stem Rodric. As a secondary name in a binomial, rodricensis is not a standalone taxon but part of the formal citation of a species or subspecies.

Etymology and grammar: The form rodricensis is a Latin adjective of toponymic or patronymic origin. It typically indicates origin from a place named Rodric (or a similarly named locality) or association with a person named Rodric. In Latin, such adjectives generally agree in gender with the genus name: rodricensis is common for masculine and feminine genera, while the neuter form would usually be rodricense. The epithet remains lowercase and, in print, is usually italicized together with the genus.

Nomenclatural usage: In both the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (ICN) and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), rodricensis is used as the species epithet and is not capitalized. Proper formatting would present the full binomial as Genus rodricensis (with the genus capitalized and the epithet in lowercase). If the genus is neuter, the neuter form rodricense may be used to maintain grammatical agreement. Epithets like rodricensis serve to distinguish species and often reflect the locality of the type specimen or honor a person or community connected to the discovery.

Notes: The exact origin of a given rodricensis epithet is usually explained in the species’ original description. While not common to all taxa, such toponymic or patronymic epithets are a standard tool in taxonomic naming to record provenance or homage.