Eurypyga
yoo-RIH-pih-guh
Genus
the broad-rumped one
Literally: broad rump
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| eury- | broad, wide | Greek (eury) | combining form of Greek εὐρύς (eurys); joins directly to the next root because it already ends in a vowel |
| -pyga | the rump | Greek (pyg, =a, -o) | standalone feminine form (=a) of the root pyg-/pygo-; Greek πυγή (pygē); the -a ending also serves as the Latin feminine nominative singular for the genus name |
A single Greek compound used as a Latin feminine genus name. 'Eury-' (εὐρύς, 'wide/broad') is the standard combining form, joined without an extra connecting vowel to '-pyga' (πυγή, 'rump'), which supplies the feminine -a nominative ending. The name refers to the conspicuously wide, rounded rump and tail-fan of the Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias), the sole living member of the family Eurypygidae, erected by Illiger in 1811.
Pronunciation
- yoo-RIH-pih-guh Antepenult stress. Four syllables: Eu·ry·py·ga. Penult 'py': vowel y (= short i) is followed by only one consonant (g) — no diphthong, no double consonant — so penult stress rules do not apply. Stress falls on the antepenult 'ry'. Antepenult vowel y is short (followed by a single consonant p, not then two vowels with the first being e/i/y in the required pattern).
Other readings
The initial 'eur-' could theoretically be read as eur-/euro- (Greek, 'east wind, southeast; broad') — see also dictionary entry eur, -o — but 'eury' ('broad') is the far better match here and is confirmed as a discrete dictionary entry.
Both roots confirmed in the dictionary: 'eury' (Greek) = 'broad, wide'; 'pyg, =a, -o' (Greek) = 'the rump'. The same roots appear in other scientific names: eury- in Eurycea, Eurylaimidae, etc.; pygo- in Pygoscelis ('rump-leg', the penguin genus) and pygostyle ('rump-pillar', the fused tail vertebrae of birds). Eurypyga helias (Pallas, 1781) is the Sunbittern of Central and South America; the wide rump is most dramatically visible during the bird's spectacular wing-and-tail threat display.