Apteryx owenii
AP-ter-iks oh-WEN-ee-eye
Species
Owen's kiwi (a wingless bird named in honour of Sir Richard Owen)
Literally: without-wing of Owen
Apteryx · genus name
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| a- | not, without | Greek (a) | privative prefix; the form 'an-' is used before vowels, 'a-' before consonants |
| -pteryx | a wing; a feather; a fin | Greek (ptery, -g, -go, -x) | the -x form (pteryx) is the nominative singular of the noun πτέρυξ; here used as the terminal element of the compound |
owenii · specific epithet
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| owenii | of Owen; honouring Sir Richard Owen (1804–1892), British comparative anatomist and palaeontologist | New Latin (from English proper name) (Owen) | Latinized genitive singular of the proper name Owen, treated as a second-declension noun in -ius (Owenius), giving the genitive -ii; lowercase as required for a species epithet |
Apteryx is a Greek-derived feminine noun used as a genus name (nominative singular). The specific epithet owenii is a Latin genitive of a person's name (Owen → Owenius → owenii), meaning 'of Owen'. A personal-name genitive does not agree in gender with the genus; it simply modifies it by possession. No ending change is required.
Pronunciation
- AP-ter-iks Three syllables: AP-ter-yx. The penult 'ter' has a short vowel (e) followed by only one consonant (r) before the final syllable, so rule 5 (short penult + two consonants) does not apply, and neither does any long-penult rule. Stress therefore falls on the ANTEPENULT (AP-). The antepenult vowel 'a' is short because it is followed by two consonants (pt). Final -yx is pronounced 'iks' (y = short i, x = ks). Note: 'pt' is not word-initial here (the word begins with 'A'), so both p and t are fully pronounced.
- oh-WEN-ee-eye Four syllables: o-wen-i-i. The penult (-i-) contains a short vowel followed by one consonant, so stress does not fall there; but the antepenult 'wen' has a short vowel followed by two vowels (ii), making it a heavy syllable. Stress falls on the PENULT 'wen' by rule 4 (penult vowel followed by the diphthong-like sequence -ii counts as long). Final -ii = 'ee-eye'.
Commonly: AP-ter-iks oh-WEN-ee-eye (no widely divergent common form)
Other readings
oweni (single -i genitive, also acceptable under the ICZN, though the original description used -ii)
Sir Richard Owen (1804–1892) was the British anatomist who first scientifically described many Southern Hemisphere vertebrates; this little spotted kiwi was named in his honour by G. R. Gray in 1847. The double genitive ending -ii (rather than single -i) was standard 19th-century practice for names ending in a consonant treated as if ending in -ius; both forms are nomenclaturally valid under ICZN Art. 31.1.2. The already-analysed genus Apteryx ('without wing') perfectly describes the kiwi's vestigial, functionally wingless condition.