Conuropsis
ko-nur-OP-sis
Genus
resembling a conure; having the look of a cone-tailed parakeet
Literally: cone-tail appearance (resembling Conurus)
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| con- | a cone; a pine cone | Greek (con, -i, -o, =us) | stem of Greek kōnos; the same root underlies the old genus name Conurus |
| -ur- | the tail | Greek (our, =a) | Greek ourá; the stem our- contracts to -ur- in Latin-script compounds; gives the genus Conurus its second element |
| -opsis | appearance; resemblance; having the face or look of | Greek (=ops / opsi, -o) | standard suffix used to name a genus that resembles another; here 'resembling Conurus' |
Conuropsis is a feminine Greek-derived genus name formed by appending the suffix -opsis ('resembling, having the appearance of') to the stem of Conurus (itself Greek kōnos 'cone' + ourá 'tail'). The word is therefore a noun in apposition meaning 'the one that looks like a Conurus.' It was coined for the Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis), placed in a genus separate from but visually similar to the conures (Conurus/Aratinga).
Pronunciation
- ko-nur-OP-sis Penult rule 5: the penult vowel 'o' is short but is followed by two consonants (p + s), so the penult is stressed.
Other readings
con- read as Latin 'with, together' + ur + opsis — grammatically possible but contextually wrong; the cone-tail reading matches Conurus perfectly
The genus Conuropsis was erected for the extinct Carolina Parakeet; the name signals its resemblance to the conures (genus Conurus, now largely Aratinga). The root our-/ur- for 'tail' is the same element in Anura ('without tail', frogs), Brachyura ('short tail', crabs), and Macrura ('long tail'). The suffix -opsis frequently signals a 'look-alike' genus in zoological nomenclature (e.g., Cervicapra vs. Cervicapropsis).