rueppellii

Rueppellii is a Latinized species epithet used in the scientific names of several organisms, named in honor of the 19th-century German naturalist Eduard Rüppell (often spelled Rueppell in English). The epithet is applied in both zoological and botanical nomenclature, and is typically written rueppellii in modern transliterations that omit the umlaut in Rüppell’s name.

In taxonomy, rueppellii serves as the second part of a binomial name to identify a particular species within a genus. The ending -ii indicates a masculine honoree in Latin grammar, reflecting the tradition of naming species after people who contributed to the discovery or study of the organism. Because many genera exist across different kingdoms, rueppellii appears in a range of taxa, and its use does not imply any close biological relationship among the species that bear it.

The best-known example is Gyps rueppellii, commonly called Rueppell’s griffon vulture, a scavenging bird native to parts of Africa. This epithet commemorates Rüppell’s role in collecting and documenting African fauna in the 19th century. Other, less well-known uses occur in various plant and animal species named by different taxonomists, reflecting the broader convention of honoring scientists and explorers through binomial nomenclature.

Notes on usage and history emphasize that rueppellii is a proper noun-derived epithet, not a taxon by itself. Taxonomic revisions can alter the genus or species assignment of a given epithet, but the recognizing honor to Rüppell commonly remains reflected in the epithet itself. See also Eduard Rüppell and Rueppell’s contributions to natural history.