Casuarius unappendiculatus
kas-yoo-AR-ee-us un-ap-pen-dic-YOO-luh-tus
Species
cassowary without small appendages (wattles)
Literally: appendix-cassowary not-having-a-small-appendage
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 |
unappendiculatus · specific epithet
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| un- | not | Latin (un) | negative prefix; distinct from uni- 'one' |
| appendic- | appendix, appendage | Latin (appendic, -o) | stem of appendix; the -ic- form used before diminutive suffix |
| -ul- | small (diminutive suffix) | Latin (-icul, =a, =um, =us) | -icul- contracted to -ul- after the stem already ends in -ic- |
| -atus | provided with, having (adjectival past-participle ending) | Latin (-tus, =ta, =tum) | masculine nominative singular agreeing with Casuarius (masculine) |
The epithet unappendiculatus is a Latin adjective (masculine nominative singular, ending -atus) agreeing in gender with the genus Casuarius (masculine). It is formed as the negative prefix un- + the stem appendic- (appendix/appendage) + diminutive -ul- + adjectival suffix -atus, meaning 'not furnished with small appendages.' The reference is to the reduced or absent wattles compared with other cassowary species.
Pronunciation
- kas-yoo-AR-ee-us Saved answer; penult -ar- is long by the -arius ending, so stress falls on the penult.
- un-ap-pen-dic-YOO-luh-tus Seven syllables: un-ap-pen-dic-u-la-tus. Penult 'la' has a short vowel followed by a single consonant (t), so stress moves to the antepenult 'u', giving -dic-YOO-luh-tus.
Commonly: kas-yoo-AR-ee-us un-ap-pen-DIC-yoo-luh-tus (common usage shifts stress one syllable earlier to the more prominent -dic- syllable)
Other readings
un- could theoretically be read as uni- 'one' (Latin unus), giving 'having one small appendage,' which fits the single wattle of the northern cassowary; however the negative reading ('without appendages') is the standard interpretation for this species.
The saved genus Casuarius is masculine; the epithet ending -atus is masculine nominative singular and agrees correctly — no change needed. un- as a Latin negative prefix (meaning 'not') is confirmed in the dictionary as distinct from uni- ('one'); the negative reading is standard for this taxon. Casuarius unappendiculatus is the northern or single-wattled cassowary; the name refers to its reduced wattle ornamentation relative to C. casuarius (double-wattled) and C. bennetti (no/minimal wattles).