Uropelia
yoo-ro-PEE-lee-uh
Genus
the long-tailed dove
Literally: tail-dove
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| uro- | the tail | Greek (ur, =a, -o) | combining form; standard Greek -o- combining vowel already present in the root |
| -pelia | a dove | Greek (=pelia) | terminal element widely used in columbid genus names |
A Greek nominal compound: uro- (tail) + -pelia (dove), with no additional connecting vowel because the first element already ends in the Greek combining vowel -o-. The compound is treated as a feminine Latin noun (genus names ending in -ia are conventionally feminine) used as a standalone genus name in apposition. It names the Long-tailed Ground-Dove of South America (family Columbidae), the sole species being Uropelia campestris.
Pronunciation
- yoo-ro-PEE-lee-uh Five syllables: U·ro·pe·li·a. Penult 'li' has a short vowel followed by no consonant before the final vowel, so penult stress is not triggered. Stress falls on the antepenult 'pe'. Antepenult vowel e is followed by single consonant l then two vowels ia (first being i), making the antepenult vowel long ('ee'). Rule: antepenult stress with long antepenult vowel.
Both roots were confirmed in the dictionary. The root =pelia ('a dove') is the same element found in related columbid genera such as Leptopelia and Oena, confirming the segmentation. The genus is monotypic, containing only Uropelia campestris (Long-tailed Ground-Dove).