Microgoura
my-croh-GOOR-uh
Genus
small crowned-pigeon
Literally: small Goura
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| micro- | small | Greek (micr, -o) | combining form with connecting vowel -o- |
| goura | a kind of pigeon | New Latin (gour, =a) | used as the standalone feminine nominative form =a; refers directly to the genus Goura (the crowned pigeons of New Guinea) |
A compound noun formed from the Greek combining form micro- (small) prefixed to the New Latin genus name Goura (crowned pigeons). The name is treated as a feminine Latin noun in the nominative singular (ending -a). The construction is technically a Greek–New Latin hybrid, which is commonplace in taxonomic nomenclature. Microgoura is therefore literally 'a small Goura', positioning the new genus as a smaller relative of the crowned pigeons.
Pronunciation
- my-croh-GOOR-uh Four syllables: mi-cro-gou-ra. The penult 'gou' contains the vowel sequence 'ou', which functions as a long vowel (pronounced 'oo' as in group). A long penult vowel triggers penult stress (rule 4).
Other readings
micro- + oura (Greek our/=a, 'the tail') is a superficially possible segmentation yielding 'small-tailed', but the dictionary entry gour, =a (New Latin, 'a kind of pigeon') aligns perfectly with the animal's identity as a pigeon, making this reading far more likely and almost certainly the author's intent.
Microgoura meeki (Rothschild, 1904), the Choiseul pigeon or Solomon crowned-pigeon, is an extinct bird known only from the island of Choiseul in the Solomon Islands. It was named to reflect its resemblance to, but smaller size than, the New Guinean crowned pigeons of the genus Goura. The name is a Greek–New Latin hybrid (micro- from Greek; goura from New Latin), which is acceptable under the ICZN but occasionally noted as inelegant. A purely Greek alternative would have used a form of περιστερά (peristera, 'pigeon') or κόλυμβος (kolumbos) rather than the New Latin genus name. The alternative segmentation micro- + oura ('small-tailed') is phonologically identical but semantically less apt and almost certainly unintended by the author.