Myiotriccus
my-ee-oh-TRICK-us
Genus
fly tyrant-flycatcher; a flycatcher allied to the genus Triccus, named for its insect-catching habit
Literally: fly-Triccus (fly + the small-flycatcher genus)
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| myio- | a fly | Greek (myi, =a, -o) | combining form myio- from Greek myia 'fly'; used here to evoke the bird's fly-catching habit |
| -triccus | small tody-tyrant flycatcher; the established genus Triccus Cabanis, 1844–45, originally from a small bird mentioned by Aristotle (Historia Animalium), variously identified as a snipe or sandpiper, later applied to small Tyrannidae | New Latin (after Greek via Aristotle) (triccus) | functions here as the head noun in apposition; -us is the Latin masculine nominative singular ending |
Myiotriccus is a masculine genus name formed as a compound noun: the Greek combining form myio- (fly) prefixed to the established genus name Triccus. The compound means roughly 'fly-Triccus', positioning this bird as a fly-catching relative of Triccus. No epithet is present; this is a monomial genus name.
Pronunciation
- my-ee-oh-TRICK-us Penult 'tric' has a short vowel followed by two consonants (cc), satisfying the heavy-penult rule; stress falls on the penult.
Commonly: MY-oh-TRICK-us (the three-vowel sequence myi-o is commonly collapsed to two syllables in speech)
Other readings
One could segment myi- + -o- (connecting vowel) + triccus, which is effectively the same analysis with the connecting vowel made explicit.
The classical identity of Aristotle's 'triccus' bird is disputed; Cabanis repurposed the word for small Tyrannidae flycatchers in 1844–45, so its etymology is historical rather than compositional. Myiotriccus is currently monotypic: the ochre-bellied flycatcher, M. ornatus. The segment tri- (Latin 'three') at position 4–7 is a coincidental overlap; the correct segmentation is myio- + triccus, not myio- + tri- + -ccus.