Casuarius bennetti
kas-yoo-AR-ee-us ben-NET-ee
Species
The cassowary of Bennett
Literally: Bennett's cassowary
Casuarius · genus
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| casuar- | a cassowary | Malayan (casuar) | same root as genus name |
| -ius | adjectival/nominal suffix forming a masculine noun | Latin | lowercase per zoological convention for a specific epithet |
bennetti · specific epithet — Latin genitive singular of the Latinized surname Bennettus, meaning 'of Bennett'
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| bennett- | surname of the naturalist George Bennett (1804–1893), who collected and described this species | New Latin (proper name) (Bennett) | Latinized as Bennettus (2nd declension masculine) to form a genitive |
| -i | genitive singular suffix of 2nd-declension masculine nouns: 'of —' | Latin | standard patronymic genitive; agrees with Bennettus |
Casuarius is a masculine New Latin noun (from Malayan kasuari). The specific epithet bennetti is the Latin genitive singular of the Latinized personal name Bennettus, meaning 'of Bennett.' Genitives are invariable and do not inflect to agree with genus gender, so no ending change is needed.
Pronunciation
- kas-yoo-AR-ee-us Identical word; same rule applies.
- ben-NET-ee Penult rule 5: penult vowel 'e' is short but followed by two consonants (tt), so the penult is stressed.
bennett- is a proper surname, not found in the roots dictionary; identified from general knowledge as George Bennett, Australian naturalist and physician, after whom this dwarf cassowary was named in 1857. The DICTIONARY MATCHES for enne- ('nine'), nett- ('duck'), and -ett ('small') are all incidental letter overlaps within the surname and should be disregarded; the name is a straightforward patronym. The saved Casuarius ending -ius is already masculine 2nd-declension nominative and requires no change to agree with the genitive epithet bennetti.