Penelopina
peh-nel-OH-pih-nuh
Genus
The lesser Penelope-guan; a genus resembling and closely allied to the guan genus Penelope
Literally: A little Penelope
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penelop- | The wife of Ulysses (Odysseus); also the established guan genus Penelope | Mythology (Greek) (penelope) | Base name to which the derivative suffix is attached; nominative stem Penelop- |
| -ina | Diminutive or derivative suffix meaning 'resembling' or 'allied to'; standard suffix for forming a daughter genus from an existing genus name | New Latin (-inae) | Renders the whole word a feminine nominative singular noun in New Latin |
Penelopina is a New Latin genus name formed by appending the productive suffix -ina to the stem of the pre-existing genus name Penelope (itself named after the mythological queen of Ithaca). The construction follows a standard ornithological convention whereby a new genus closely related to but distinct from an existing one is named by adding -ina, conveying 'a smaller or lesser form of Penelope'. The name is treated as a feminine noun in the Latin nominative singular, as required for all genus names ending in -a under the ICZN.
Pronunciation
- peh-nel-OH-pih-nuh Penult syllable 'pi' has a short vowel followed by a single consonant, satisfying none of the five penult-stress rules, so stress falls on the antepenult 'o'. The antepenult vowel is short because it is followed by a single consonant and then a single vowel (not two consecutive vowels).
Commonly: peh-NEL-oh-pih-nuh (heard in everyday ornithological speech by analogy with the personal name Penélope, but not supported by the classical stress rules)
Other readings
No alternative segmentation is linguistically compelling; splitting pene- (Latin: almost) + lop- (Greek: scale/husk) + -ina would be forced and is not the intended etymology.
The suffix -inae in the dictionary is strictly the animal subfamily/subtribe ending, but its shortened form -ina is the productive New Latin diminutive/derivative used to coin daughter genera; both share the same dictionary entry and the identification is high-confidence. Penelope as a mythological figure is confirmed in the dictionary (id 4680: 'The wife of Ulysses'). The genus Penelopina nigra (Highland Guan) was described by Fraser in 1850 and is the sole species in the genus.