Pelecanoides
pel-eh-can-OY-deez
Genus
resembling a pelican
Literally: pelican-like
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pelecan- | pelican | Latin (from Greek pelekanos) (pelecanus) | stem pelican-, from Greek πελεκάνος (pelekan-os) |
| -oid | like, resembling, having the form of | Greek (-oid, -oides) | from Greek -oeides; a very common zoological suffix indicating resemblance |
| -es | nominative singular ending for -oides words | Greek/Latin | Greek-derived nouns in -oides take -es as their nominative ending in scientific Latin; treated as feminine by convention in genus names |
A single-word genus name, formed as a Greek-pattern adjective/noun in -oides used substantively. Pelecan- is the stem of the Latin/Greek word for pelican; -oides/-es is the Greek suffix meaning 'resembling'. The name functions as a Latin feminine noun (treated as such under the ICZN). It is the genus name for diving petrels, seabirds that superficially resemble small pelicans or, more likely, share the pelican's pouch-like throat used for fish storage.
Pronunciation
- pel-eh-can-OY-deez Penult rule 2: the penult syllable '-oi-' contains the diphthong 'oi', so the penult is stressed. The final '-es' is pronounced 'eez' per the vowel rule for '-es'.
Other readings
Some authorities parse 'pelec-' as the Greek root pelekys (axe), giving 'axe-form'; however, the direct derivation from pelecanus (pelican) is standard and well-supported for this genus.
The genus Pelecanoides was established by Bonaparte (1856) for the diving petrels (family Pelecanoididae), small seabirds of the Southern Ocean. The root pelecanus was confirmed in the dictionary (term: pelican, pelecanus); the suffix -oides was confirmed (term: -oid, -oides). The final -es is not separately listed in the dictionary but is the standard Greek nominative ending for -oides words, universally used in biological nomenclature. Diving petrels are not closely related to true pelicans; the resemblance is in the distensible throat pouch used to carry fish.