Castor canadensis
KAS-tor kan-uh-DEN-sis
Species
The Canadian beaver
Literally: Beaver of Canada
Castor · genus name
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castor | The beaver | Greek (=castor) | Used here as a genus name in Latin nominal form; also a figure from Greek mythology (one of the Dioscuri), but the zoological sense is unambiguous |
canadensis · specific epithet (locality adjective)
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| canad- | Of Canada | New Latin (canadens) | New Latin stem formed from the place name Canada |
| -ensis | Belonging to (used with locality names) | Latin (-ensis, =ense) | Standard Latin adjectival suffix for place of origin; agrees with genus Castor (masculine) as -ensis |
Castor is a Greek-derived noun used as a Latin masculine genus name. The specific epithet canadensis is a Latin locality adjective formed with the suffix -ensis, which does not change form between masculine and feminine (it belongs to the third-declension two-termination type), so it agrees with the masculine genus Castor. Together the name means 'the beaver belonging to Canada.'
Pronunciation
- KAS-tor Two-syllable word: stress the penult (rule 1).
- kan-uh-DEN-sis Penult syllable 'den' is short but followed by two consonants (n+s), so the penult is stressed (rule 5).
Commonly: KAS-ter ka-nuh-DEN-sis (occasional anglicised reduction of the final -or to -er)
Other readings
No credible alternative segmentation exists; the dictionary entry canadens confirms canadensis as a pre-formed New Latin unit.
The genus name Castor is also the name of a star in Gemini and one of the twin Dioscuri of Greek mythology, but in zoological context it unambiguously derives from Greek kastor meaning 'the beaver.' The -ensis suffix here follows the standard New Latin convention of attaching it to a place name (Canada) to form a locality adjective; the dictionary records this as a complete unit canadens/canadensis.