Artamella
ar-ta-MEL-uh
Genus
A small Artamus; the 'little butcher-bird'
Literally: Little butcher (bird)
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| artam- | a butcher | Greek (artam, -o, =us) | Stem of Artamus, the woodswallow genus; the whole genus name Artamus is used as the base here |
| -ella | small; diminutive suffix | Latin (=ell, =a, =um, =us) | Feminine diminutive; makes the genus name feminine |
Artamella is a genus name (feminine, treated as Latin) coined by appending the Latin feminine diminutive suffix -ella directly to the stem artam- of the pre-existing genus Artamus (Greek artamos, 'butcher'). The construction is a hybrid (Greek stem + Latin suffix), a common and accepted practice in zoological nomenclature. The name means 'a little Artamus', signalling that the bird resembles, but is smaller or more derived than, the woodswallows of Artamus. No species epithet is present; Artamella is used at genus rank alone.
Pronunciation
- ar-ta-MEL-uh Penult rule 5: the penult vowel 'e' is short but is followed by two consonants (ll), making the syllable heavy; therefore the penult is stressed.
Other readings
artam- + -ella could theoretically be read as artam- + mel- ('honey') + -la, but this is linguistically forced and taxonomically unmotivated; the diminutive-of-Artamus reading is the standard interpretation.
Artamella viridis (the White-headed Vanga of Madagascar) is the sole species in this genus. It was placed near Artamus (woodswallows) by early authors but is now firmly in Vangidae. The name is a deliberate Greek–Latin hybrid (artam- Greek + -ella Latin), which is permissible under ICZN rules but worth noting etymologically. The diminutive suffix -ella also appears in many other bird genera coined the same way (e.g. Motacilla, Ficedula).