Rhinocrypta
rye-no-KRIP-tuh
Genus
concealed nose
Literally: hidden nose
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| rhino- | a nose | Greek (rhin, -o) | combining form of rhin- before a consonant; the initial 'h' is silent in English pronunciation |
| crypt- | hidden, concealed | Greek (crypt, -o) | base form of the root; the -o combining vowel is dropped before the following vowel of the suffix |
| -a | feminine singular nominative ending | Latin / New Latin | standard New Latin genus-name ending giving the word grammatical feminine gender |
A single compound noun coined in New Latin as a genus name. The first element rhino- (Greek combining form of rhin-, 'nose') modifies the second element crypt- (Greek, 'hidden/concealed'). The termination -a is the standard New Latin feminine nominative singular ending used for genus names. Together the word functions as a noun meaning 'the one with the hidden/concealed nose.' The name alludes to the partially hidden, slit-like nasal openings characteristic of the tapaculos (family Rhinocryptidae), the bird family to which the genus belongs.
Pronunciation
- rye-no-KRIP-tuh Four syllables: rhi-no-cryp-ta. The penult 'cryp' has a short vowel (y = ih) followed by TWO consonants across the syllable boundary (p + t), so Rule 5 (short penult vowel + two consonants) places the stress on the PENULT: KRIP.
Other readings
A minority reading could parse rhin- as 'shark or rasp' (Greek rhin, =a), but the 'nose' sense (rhin, -o) is overwhelmingly supported by the family name Rhinocryptidae and by the anatomical trait the name references.
Rhinocrypta is the genus of the Crested Gallito (R. lanceolata), a tapaculo of South America. The genus name also gives rise to the family name Rhinocryptidae ('hidden-nosed ones'), confirming the 'concealed nose' reading. The terminal -a is treated here as a New Latin feminine ending rather than the Greek privative prefix a- ('without'), since that reading ('without a hidden thing') is semantically incoherent. Initial Rh- in Greek-derived scientific names: the h is conventionally silent in English; the word begins with a plain /r/ sound.