Notopholia
no-toh-FOH-lee-uh
Genus
the back-scaled one; (alternatively) the southern scaled one
Literally: back-scale or south-scale
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| noto- | the back; or the south wind / the south | Greek (not, -a, -ae, -al, -o, =um) | combining form noto-; two senses are possible — 'back' (νῶτον) or 'south' (νότος) |
| -pholi- | a scale; scaly | Greek (pholi, -do, =s) | stem of φολίς; the -do- combining form (pholido-) is not used here; the bare stem pholi- is joined directly to the ending |
| -a | feminine singular nominative ending | Greek / Latin (=a) | gives the genus name a feminine grammatical gender, as is conventional for genus names ending in -a |
Notopholia is a compound Greek noun used as a genus name. It joins noto- (back or south) + pholis (scale) + the feminine ending -a, producing a feminine noun in apposition to itself. The full root of pholis is pholid- (as in Pholidota), but the compound telescopes to pholi- before the final vowel. The name functions as a standalone genus-level noun with no separate species epithet given here.
Pronunciation
- no-toh-FOH-lee-uh Antepenult rule: the penult vowel 'i' is short (single consonant before it) but is itself followed by two vowels (ia), so stress falls on the antepenult — wait, there are five syllables: no-to-fo-li-a; the antepenult is 'fo'; its vowel is followed by a single consonant then two vowels (li-a), triggering long-antepenult stress → FOH; penult 'li' is short and followed by only one consonant then a vowel, so stress does not stay on penult.
Other readings
noto- = 'south' (νότος, south wind / south) + pholis → 'southern scale / the southern scaly one'; equally valid given the dictionary entries
A three-way split not- + o (connecting vowel) + pholia is not supported because pholia is not a dictionary root; the two-part noto- + pholis split is strongly preferred
The genus Notopholia is a real scincid lizard genus (skinks); the name alludes to dorsal (back) scaling or a southern distribution. pholis normally has the full stem pholid- in compounds (e.g. Pholidota, Pholidosaurus), but the shortened pholi- form used here is attested in the dictionary entry pholi, -do, =s. The -a ending is not separately in the dictionary as a suffix entry but is the standard Greek/Latin feminine nominative singular ending used for genus names.