subflavus

Subflavus is a Latin adjective used in biological nomenclature to indicate a somewhat yellow coloration or a yellowish feature on an organism. The combining form sub- means under or slightly, and flavus means yellow. As a taxonomic epithet, subflavus is not a taxon by itself but a descriptor appended to a genus name to form a species or subspecies name.

In practice, subflavus is employed across plants and animals to highlight coloration, such as a yellowish ventral surface, a pale yellow bloom on a plant, or other pale yellow traits. The exact trait denoted depends on the taxonomist and the specimen described.

Taxonomic names with subflavus appear in historical and contemporary literature; because color descriptors are common in Latin epithets, the same epithet can arise in unrelated lineages. It is part of a broader set of color-based epithets including flavus (yellow), luteus (yellowish), albus (white), and viridis (green).

Limitations: color descriptions can be subjective and may vary with lighting, age, or preservation; modern taxonomy increasingly supplements color-based epithets with genetic or morphometric data.

See also: Latin in scientific naming, species epithet, color morphs.