Cymbilaimus
sim-bih-LAY-mus
Genus
boat-billed [shrike]
Literally: boat hook
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cymbi- | boat; a hollow boat-like vessel | Greek (cymb, -o) | cymbi- is the combining form used here before a vowel/consonant; from Greek κύμβη (kymbē) |
| -laimus | throat, gullet | Greek (laim, -o, =us) | used in ornithology as a suffix indicating a type of throat or bill; final -us is the Latin nominative masculine ending |
This is a genus name formed from two Greek combining forms joined directly (cymbi- + -laimus). The whole compound is treated as a Latin masculine noun (nominative singular -us). It describes the bird by the shape of its bill: boat-shaped throat/bill. No specific epithet is present — this is a monomial genus name.
Pronunciation
- sim-bih-LAY-mus Penult rule 4: the penult vowel 'ai' is a diphthong (= long ā), so stress falls on the penult syllable '-lai-'
Other readings
cymb- could theoretically be read as a variant of cym- (wave), but the boat reading (κύμβη) is strongly preferred and matches the ornithological usage for this genus of fasciated antshrike
Cymbilaimus is a small genus of antbird (family Thamnophilidae) found in South America; the type species is the Fasciated Antshrike (Cymbilaimus lineatus). The combining form cymbi- appears in the dictionary under 'cymb, -o' (Greek κύμβη, boat). The -i- here is a Latin-style connecting vowel substituting for the Greek -o-, which is common in Latinized compound genus names. The suffix -laimus (Greek λαιμός, throat/gullet) is extremely common in passerine genus names to indicate bill or throat shape. The name alludes to the deep, boat-shaped profile of the bill.