This is a list of common

affix In linguistics, an affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form. Affixes may be derivational, like English ''-ness'' and ''pre-'', or inflectional, like English plural ''-s'' and past tense ''-ed''. They ar ...

es used when scientifically naming species, particularly extinct species for whom only their scientific names are used, along with their derivations. *a-, an-: ''Pronunciation'': /ə/, /a/, /ən/, /an/. ''Origin'': grc, ἀ-, ἀν- (''a, an-''). ''Meaning'': a prefix used to make words with a sense opposite to that of the root word; in this case, meaning "without" or "-less". This is usually used to describe organisms without a certain characteristic, as well as organisms in which that characteristic may not be immediately obvious. *:Examples: ''

Anurognathus ''Anurognathus'' is a genus of small pterosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period (Tithonian stage). ''Anurognathus'' was first named and described by Ludwig Döderlein in 1923.Döderlein, L. (1923). "''Anurognathus Ammoni'', ein neuer F ...

'' ("tail-less jaw"); ''

Apus Apus is a small constellation in the southern sky. It represents a bird-of-paradise, and its name means "without feet" in Greek because the bird-of-paradise was once wrongly believed to lack feet. First depicted on a celestial globe by Petrus ...

'' ("without foot"); '' Apteryx'' ("wingless"); ''

Pteranodon ''Pteranodon'' (); from Ancient Greek (''pteron'', "wing") and (''anodon'', "toothless") is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with ''P. longiceps'' having a wingspan of . They lived during the late C ...

'' ("toothless wing") *-acanth, acantho-, -cantho: ''Pronunciation'': /eɪkænθ/, /eɪkænθoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, ἄκανθα (''ákantha''). ''Meaning'': spine. *:Examples: ''

Acanthodes ''Acanthodes'' (from el, ἄκανθώδης , 'provided with spines') is an extinct genus of spiny shark. Fossils have been found in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia. ''Acanthodes'' was most common in the Carboniferous and Early Perm ...

'' ("spiny base"); ''

Acanthostega ''Acanthostega'' (meaning "spiny roof") is an extinct genus of stem-tetrapod, among the first vertebrate animals to have recognizable limbs. It appeared in the late Devonian period ( Famennian age) about 365 million years ago, and was anatomi ...

'' ("spine roof");

coelacanth The coelacanths ( ) are fish belonging to the order Actinistia that includes two extant species in the genus ''Latimeria'': the West Indian Ocean coelacanth (''Latimeria chalumnae''), primarily found near the Comoro Islands off the east coast ...

("hollow spine"); ''

Acrocanthosaurus ''Acrocanthosaurus'' ( ; ) is a genus of carcharodontosaurid dinosaur that existed in what is now North America during the Aptian and early Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous, from 113 to 110 million years ago. Like most dinosaur genera, '' ...

'' ("high-spined lizard"); '' Acanthoderes'' ("spiny neck"); ''

Acanthamoeba ''Acanthamoeba'' is a genus of amoebae that are commonly recovered from soil, fresh water, and other habitats. ''Acanthamoeba'' has two evolutive forms, the metabolically active trophozoite and a dormant, stress-resistant cyst. Trophozoites are ...

'' ("spiny amoeba") * aeto-: ''Pronunciation'': /aɛto/. Origin: grc, ἀετός (''aetós''). ''Meaning'': eagle. *:Examples: ''

Aetonyx ''Massospondylus'' ( ; from Greek, (massōn, "longer") and (spondylos, "vertebra")) is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic. (Hettangian to Pliensbachian ages, ca. 200–183 million years ago). It was described by S ...

'' ("eagle claw"); ''

Aetobatus ''Aetobatus'' is a genus of eagle rays native to the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was formerly placed in Myliobatidae, but is now placed in its own family Aetobatidae based on salient differences from myliobatids, especially the pect ...

'' ("eagle ray"); ''

Aetosaur Aetosaurs () are heavily armored reptiles belonging to the extinct order Aetosauria (; from Greek, (aetos, "eagle") and (, "lizard")). They were medium- to large-sized omnivorous or herbivorous pseudosuchians, part of the branch of archosaurs ...

'' ("eagle lizard") *amphi-: ''Pronunciation'': /amfiː/, /amfɪ/. ''Origin'': grc, ἀμφί (''amphí''). ''Meaning'': both. *:Examples:

Amphibia Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

("two types of life"); ''

Amphicoelias ''Amphicoelias'' (, meaning "biconcave", from the Greek ἀμφί, ''amphi'': "on both sides", and κοῖλος, ''koilos'': "hollow, concave") is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived approximately 150 million years ago during t ...

'' ("hollow at both ends"); ''

Amphicyon ''Amphicyon'' ("ambiguous dog") is an extinct genus of large carnivorous bone-crushing mammals, popularly known as bear dogs, of the family Amphicyonidae, subfamily Amphicyoninae, from the Burdigalian Epoch until the late Pliocene, with the creat ...

'' ("ambiguous dog") *-anthus, antho-: ''Pronunciation'': /anθəs/, /anθoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, ἄνθος (''ánthos''). ''Meaning'': flower. *:Examples: ''

Helianthus ''Helianthus'' () is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers. Except for three South American species, the species of ''Helianthus'' are native to N ...

'' ("sunflower");

Anthophila Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

("flower-loving"); ''

Dianthus ''Dianthus'' () is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North Ameri ...

'' ("Zeus flower"/"godly flower") *arch-, archi-, archo-, -archus: ''Pronunciation'': /ark/, /arkoʊ/, /arkɪ/, /arkəs/. ''Origin'': grc, ἀρχός (''arkhós''), ''meaning'': ruler; ἀρχικός (''arkhikós''), ''meaning'': ruling. Used for exceptionally large or widespread animals. *:Examples: ''

Archelon ''Archelon'' is an extinct marine turtle from the Late Cretaceous, and is the largest turtle ever to have been documented, with the biggest specimen measuring from head to tail and in body mass. It is known only from the Dakota Pierre Sha ...

'' ("ruling turtle"); '' Architeuthis'' ("ruling squid"); ''

Thalattoarchon ''Thalattoarchon'' is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Middle Triassic of the western United States. The type species ''Thalattoarchon saurophagis'' (meaning "lizard-eating sovereign of the sea" in Greek) was discovered in Nevada, USA, in ...

'' ("Sea Ruler"); ''

Archosaur Archosauria () is a clade of diapsids, with birds and crocodilians as the only living representatives. Archosaurs are broadly classified as reptiles, in the cladistic sense of the term which includes birds. Extinct archosaurs include non-avian ...

'' ("ruling lizard"); ''

Andrewsarchus ''Andrewsarchus'' () is an extinct genus of mammal that lived during the middle Eocene epoch in what is now Inner Mongolia, China. Only one species is usually recognized, ''A. mongoliensis'', known from a single skull of great size discovered in ...

'' (" Andrews's ruler") *archaeo-: ''Pronunciation'': /arkiːɒ/, /arkiːoʊ/ . ''Origin'': grc, ἀρχαῖος (''arkhaîos''). ''Meaning'': ancient. Used for early versions of animals and plants. *:Examples: ''

Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather ...

'' ("ancient wing"); ''

Archaeoindris ''Archaeoindris fontoynontii'' is an extinct giant lemur and the largest primate known to have evolved on Madagascar, comparable in size to a male gorilla. It belonged to a family of extinct lemurs known as "sloth lemurs" (Palaeopropithecidae) ...

'' ("ancient

Indri The indri (; ''Indri indri''), also called the babakoto, is one of the largest living lemurs, with a head-body length of about and a weight of between . It has a black and white coat and maintains an upright posture when climbing or clinging. ...

"); ''

Archaeopteris ''Archaeopteris'' is an extinct genus of progymnosperm tree with fern-like leaves. A useful index fossil, this tree is found in strata dating from the Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous (), the oldest fossils being 385 million years old, and ...

'' ("ancient fern"); '' Archaeanthus'' ("ancient flower") *-arctos, arcto-: ''Pronunciation'': /arktoʊz/, /arktoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, ἄρκτος (''árktos''). ''Meaning'': bear. *:Examples: ''

Phascolarctos ''Phascolarctos'' is a genus of marsupials with one living species, the koala ''Phascolarctos cinereus'', an iconic animal of Australia. Several extinct species of the genus are known from fossil material, these were also large tree dwellers that ...

'' ("bag bear"); ''

Arctodus ''Arctodus'' is an extinct genus of short-faced bear that inhabited North America during the Pleistocene (~2.5 Mya until 12,000 years ago). There are two recognized species: the lesser short-faced bear (''Arctodus pristinus'') and the giant short- ...

'' ("bear tooth"); ''

Arctocyon ''Arctocyon'' ('bear dog') is an extinct genus of ungulate mammals. ''Arctocyon'' was a "ground dwelling omnivore", that lived from 61.3-56.8 Ma. Synonyms of ''Arctocyon'' include ''Claenodon'', and ''Neoclaenodon''. ''Arctocyon'' was likely plan ...

'' ("bear dog") *arthro-: /arθroʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, ἄρθρον (''árthron''). ''Meaning'': joint. Often used for animals with

exoskeletons An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the l ...

. *:Examples: '' Arthrospira'' ("jointed coil"); ''

Arthropleura ''Arthropleura'' () is a genus of extinct millipede arthropods that lived in what is now North America and Europe around 345 to 290 million years ago, from the Viséan stage of the lower Carboniferous Period to the Sakmarian stage of the low ...

'' ("jointed rib");

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chitin, o ...

("jointed foot") *aspido-, -aspis: ''Pronunciation'': /əspɪdoʊ/, /əspɪs/. ''Origin'': grc, ἀσπίς (''aspís''). ''Meaning'': shield. The suffix "-aspis" is used to describe armored fish. *:Examples: ''

Aspidochelone According to the tradition of the ''Physiologus'' and medieval bestiaries, the aspidochelone is a fabled sea creature, variously described as a large whale or vast sea turtle, and a giant sea monster with huge spines on the ridge of its back. No ...

'' ("shield turtle"); ''

Cephalaspis ''Cephalaspis'' (from el, κεφαλή , 'head' and el, ἀσπίς , 'shield') is a possibly monotypic genus of extinct osteostracan agnathan vertebrate. It was a trout-sized detritivorous fish that lived in the early Devonian. Description ...

'' ("head shield"); '' Sacabambaspis'' (" Sacabamba shield"); ''

Brindabellaspis ''Brindabellaspis stensioi'' ("Erik Stensiö's Brindabella Ranges Shield") is a placoderm with a flat, platypus-like snout from the Early Devonian of the Taemas-Wee Jasper reef in Australia. When it was first discovered in 1980, it was origina ...

'' (" Brindabella shield") *-avis: ''Pronunciation'': /əvɪs/. ''Origin'': la, avis. ''Meaning'': bird. *:Examples: ''

Protoavis ''Protoavis'' (meaning "first bird") is a problematic taxon known from fragmentary remains from Late Triassic Norian stage deposits near Post, Texas. Much controversy remains over the animal, and there are many different interpretations of what ...

'' ("first bird"); ''

Argentavis ''Argentavis magnificens'' was among the largest flying birds ever to exist. While it is still considered the heaviest flying bird of all time, ''Argentavis'' was likely surpassed in wingspan by '' Pelagornis sandersi'' which is estimated to have ...

'' ("Argentine bird"); '' Eoalulavis'' ("little-winged dawn bird") *-bates: ''Pronunciation'': /bætiz/. ''Origin'': grc, βαίνω ("baínō"). ''Meaning'': wanderer, one that treads. *:Examples: ''

Hylobates The genus ''Hylobates'' is one of the four genera of gibbons. Its name means "forest walker", from the Greek (, "forest") and (, "one who treads"). It was once considered the only genus, but recently its subgenera (''Hoolock'' ormerly ''Bun ...

'' ("forest wanderer"); ''

Dendrobates ''Dendrobates'' is a genus of poison dart frogs native to Central and South America. It once contained numerous species, but most originally placed in this genus have been split off into other genera such as '' Adelphobates'', '' Ameerega'', '' A ...

'' ("tree wanderer") *brachi-, brachy-: ''pronunciation'': /brækɪ/. ''Origin'': grc, βραχύς, βραχίων (''brakhús, brakhíōn''). ''Meaning'': short, and the short part of the arm, or upper arm, respectively. Used in its original meaning, and also to mean "arm". *:Examples: ''

Brachylophosaurus ''Brachylophosaurus'' ( or ; meaning "short-crested lizard", Greek ''brachys'' = short + ''lophos'' = crest + ''sauros'' = lizard, referring to its small crest) was a mid-sized member of the hadrosaurid family of dinosaurs. It is known from sev ...

'' ("short-crested lizard"); ''

Brachiosaurus ''Brachiosaurus'' () is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic, about 154to 150million years ago. It was first described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in th ...

'' ("arm lizard"); '' Brachyceratops'' ("short-horned face") *bronto-: ''Pronunciation'': /brɒntoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, βροντή (''brontḗ''). ''Meaning'': thunder. Used for large animals. *:Examples: ''

Brontosaurus ''Brontosaurus'' (; meaning "thunder lizard" from Greek , "thunder" and , "lizard") is a genus of gigantic quadruped sauropod dinosaurs. Although the type species, ''B. excelsus'', had long been considered a species of the closely related '' ...

'' ("thunder lizard"), ''

Brontotherium ''Megacerops'' ("large-horned face", from '' méga-'' "large" + '' kéras'' "horn" + '' ōps'' "face") is an extinct genus of the prehistoric odd-toed ungulate (hoofed mammal) family Brontotheriidae, an extinct group of rhinoceros-like browsers ...

'' ("thunder beast"), '' Brontoscorpio'' ("thunder scorpion") ''

Brontochelys ''Brontochelys'' is an extinct genus of podocnemidid from the Miocene of Pakistan. The only species known, ''B. gaffneyi'' was classified before in the genus '' Shweboemys'', which is known from the Pliocene of Burma. ''Brontochelys'' is represe ...

'' ("thunder turtle") *-canth, cantho-: see -acanth, acantho-. *carcharo-: ''Pronunciation'': /kərkæro/. ''Origin'': (''kárkharos''). ''Meaning'': sharp, jagged; extended via (''karkharías'') to mean "shark". *:Examples: ''

Carcharodon ''Carcharodon'' () is a genus of sharks within the family Lamnidae. The only extant member is the great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''). Hubell's white shark ('' Carcharodon hubbelli'') is an extinct member of this genus. Megalodon ...

'' ("jagged tooth"), ''

Carcharocles ''Otodus'' is an extinct genus of mackerel shark which lived from the Paleocene to the Pliocene epoch. The name ''Otodus'' comes from Ancient Greek (, meaning "ear") and (, meaning "tooth") – thus, "ear-shaped tooth". Anatomy This shark is ...

'' ("glorious shark"), ''

Carcharodontosaurus ''Carcharodontosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of large carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed during the Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous in Northern Africa. The genus ''Carcharodontosaurus'' is named after the shark genus '' Carc ...

'' ("serrated tooth lizard") *-cephalus, cephalo-, -cephale, -cephalian: ''Pronunciation'': /sɛfələs/, /sɛfəloʊ̯/, /sɛfəli:/ /sɛfeɪliːən/. ''Origin'': grc, κεφαλή (''kephalḗ''). ''Meaning'': head. *:Examples: ''

Sclerocephalus ''Sclerocephalus'' is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the lowermost Permian of Germany and Czech Republic with four valid species, including the type species ''S. haeuseri''. It is one of the most completely preserved and most ab ...

'' ("hard head"); ''

Euoplocephalus ''Euoplocephalus'' ( ) is a genus of very large, herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaurs, living during the Late Cretaceous of Canada. It has only one named species, ''Euoplocephalus tutus''. The first fossil of ''Euoplocephalus'' was found in 1897 i ...

'' ("well-protected head"), ''

Pachycephalosaurus ''Pachycephalosaurus'' (; meaning "thick-headed lizard", from Greek ''pachys-/'' "thick", ''kephale/'' "head" and ''sauros/'' "lizard") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. The type species, ''P. wyomingensis'', is the only known species, ...

'' ("thick headed lizard"), ''

Amtocephale ''Amtocephale'' (meaning " Amtgai head") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from early Late Cretaceous (Turonian-Santonian stages) deposits of southern Gobi Desert, Mongolia. ''Amtocephale'' is known from the holotype MPC-D 100/120 ...

'' (" Amtgai head"); ''

Therocephalian Therocephalia is an extinct suborder of eutheriodont therapsids (mammals and their close relatives) from the Permian and Triassic. The therocephalians ("beast-heads") are named after their large skulls, which, along with the structure of their t ...

'' ("beast-headed") *-ceras, cerat-, -ceratus: ''Pronunciation'': /sɛrəs/, /sɛrət/, /sɛrətəs/. ''Origin'': grc, κέρας (''kéras''). ''Meaning'': horn. Used for many horned animals, but most notably

ceratopsians Ceratopsia or Ceratopia ( or ; Greek: "horned faces") is a group of herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs that thrived in what are now North America, Europe, and Asia, during the Cretaceous Period, although ancestral forms lived earlier, in the Jurassi ...

. *:Examples: ''

Stegoceras ''Stegoceras'' is a genus of pachycephalosaurid (dome-headed) dinosaur that lived in what is now North America during the Late Cretaceous period, about 77.5 to 74 million years ago (mya). The first specimens from Alberta, Canada, were describ ...

'' ("roof horn"); ''

Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago in what is now North America. It is one o ...

'' ("three-horned face"), ''

Orthoceras ''Orthoceras'' ("straight horn") is a genus of extinct nautiloid cephalopod restricted to Middle Ordovician-aged marine limestones of the Baltic States and Sweden. This genus is sometimes called ''Orthoceratites''. Note it is sometimes misspelle ...

'' ("straight horn") '' Megaloceras'' ("big horn") ''

Ceratosaurus ''Ceratosaurus'' (from Greek κέρας/κέρατος, ' meaning "horn" and σαῦρος ' meaning "lizard") was a carnivorous theropod dinosaur in the Late Jurassic period (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian). The genus was first described in 1884 ...

'' ("horned lizard"); ''

Microceratus ''Microceratus'' (meaning "small-horned") is a genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous period in Asia. It walked on two legs, had short front arms, a characteristic ceratopsian frill and beak-like mouth, and was arou ...

'' ("small horned");

rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

("nose horn"); '' Albertoceras'' ("

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Terri ...

horn") *cetio-, -cetus: ''Pronunciation'': /sɛtɪoʊ/, /siːtəs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek κῆτος (''kētos''). ''Meaning'': sea-monster. The suffix "-cetus" is used for whales or whale ancestors, while the prefix "cetio-" is used for whale-like or large animals. *:Examples: ''

Peregocetus ''Peregocetus'' is a genus of early whale that lived in what is now Peru during the Middle Eocene epoch. Its fossil was uncovered in 2011 in the Yumaque Formation of the Pisco Basin at Playa Media Luna by a team consisting of members from Bel ...

'' ("Perego whale") ''

Cetiosaurus ''Cetiosaurus'' () meaning 'whale lizard', from the Greek '/ meaning 'sea monster' (later, 'whale') and '/ meaning 'lizard', is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Period, living about 168 million years ago in what ...

'' ("whale lizard"); ''

Ambulocetus ''Ambulocetus'' (Latin ''ambulare'' "to walk" + ''cetus'' "whale") is a genus of early amphibious cetacean from the Kuldana Formation in Pakistan, roughly 48 or 47 million years ago during the Early Eocene ( Lutetian). It contains one species ...

'' ("walking whale"); ''

Pakicetus ''Pakicetus'' is an extinct genus of amphibious cetacean of the family Pakicetidae, which was endemic to Pakistan during the Eocene, about 50 million years ago. It was a wolf-like animal, about to long, and lived in and around water where it a ...

'' ("

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

whale") *-cheirus: ''Pronunciation'': /kaɪrəs/. ''Origin'': grc, χείρ (''kheír''). ''Meaning'': hand. *:Examples: ''

Deinocheirus ''Deinocheirus'' ( ) is a genus of large ornithomimosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous around 70 million years ago. In 1965, a pair of large arms, shoulder girdles, and a few other bones of a new dinosaur were first discovered in the N ...

'' ("terrible hand"); ''

Ornithocheirus ''Ornithocheirus'' (from Ancient Greek "ὄρνις", meaning ''bird'', and "χεῖρ", meaning ''hand'') is a pterosaur genus known from fragmentary fossil remains uncovered from sediments in the UK and possibly Morocco. Several species have ...

'' ("bird hand"); '' Austrocheirus'' ("southern hand"); ''

Haplocheirus ''Haplocheirus'' is a genus of theropod dinosaur. Upon its description, it was considered the oldest alvarezsauroid, predating all other members by about 63 million years. This has subsequently been questioned. A 2019 study considered ''Haploc ...

'' ("simple hand") *chloro-: ''Pronunciation'': /kloroʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, χλωρός (''khlōrós''). ''Meaning'': green. *:Examples:

Chlorophyta Chlorophyta or Prasinophyta is a taxon of green algae informally called chlorophytes. The name is used in two very different senses, so care is needed to determine the use by a particular author. In older classification systems, it refers to a ...

("green plant")

Chlorophyll Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to ...

("green leaf") *choer-: ''Pronunciation'': /koɪroʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, χοίρος (''koíros''). ''Meaning'': pig. *:Examples: ''

Choeroichthys ''Choeroichthys'' is a genus of pipefishes of the family Syngnathidae native to the Indian and Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the nor ...

'' ("pig-fish"); ''

Choerophryne ''Choerophryne'' is a genus of microhylid frogs, commonly known as Torricelli mountain frogs, endemic to New Guinea. These frogs are small, with the body length measured from snout to vent between 11 and 23 mm. Taxonomy and systematics The ...

'' ("frog pig"); '' Choerodon'' ("pig tooth") *coel-: ''Pronunciation'': /siːl/ or /sɛl/ . ''Origin'': grc, κοῖλος (''koîlos''). ''Meaning'': hollow. *:Examples:

("hollow spine"); ''

Coelodonta ''Coelodonta'' (, from the Greek κοιλία, ''koilía'' and οδούς, ''odoús'', "hollow tooth", in reference to the deep grooves of their molars) is an extinct genus of rhinoceros that lived in Eurasia between 3.7 million years to 10,000 ...

'' ("hollow tooth"); ''

Coelophysis ''Coelophysis'' ( traditionally; or , as heard more commonly in recent decades) is an extinct genus of coelophysid theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 228 to 201.3 million years ago during the latter part of the Triassic Period from ...

'' ("hollow form") ''

'' (¨hollow at both ends¨) *cyan-, cyano-: ''Pronunciation'': /saɪæno/. ''Origin'': grc, κυάνεος (''kuáneos''). ''Meaning'': dark blue, blue, dark blue-green. *:Examples: ''

Cyanocitta ''Cyanocitta'' is a genus of birds in the family Corvidae, a family which contains the crows, jays and magpies. Established by Hugh Edwin Strickland in 1845, it contains the following species: The name ''Cyanocitta'' is a combination of the Gr ...

'' ("blue jay"); Cyanobacteria ("blue bacteria"); ''

Cyanocorax ''Cyanocorax'' is a genus of New World jays, passerine birds in the family Corvidae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words κυανος (''kuanos''), meaning "dark blue," and κοραξ (''korax''), meaning "raven". It contains sever ...

'' ("blue raven") *cyclo-: ''Pronunciation'': /saɪkloʊ/ (or /saɪklɒ/). ''Origin'': grc, κύκλος (''kúklos''). ''Meaning'': circle. *:Examples: ''

Cyclomedusa ''Cyclomedusa'' is a circular fossil of the Ediacaran biota; it has a circular bump in the middle and as many as five circular growth ridges around it. Many specimens are small, but specimens in excess of 20 cm are known. The concentric dis ...

'' ("circle

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Thos ...

");

Cyclostomata Cyclostomi, often referred to as Cyclostomata , is a group of vertebrates that comprises the living jawless fishes: the lampreys and hagfishes. Both groups have jawless mouths with horny epidermal structures that function as teeth called cerato ...

("circle mouth") *cyn-, -cyon: ''Pronunciation'': /saɪn/, /saɪɒn/. ''Origin'': grc, κύων (''kúon''). ''Meaning'': dog. Used for dogs or dog-like creatures. *:Examples:

Cynodont The cynodonts () ( clade Cynodontia) are a clade of eutheriodont therapsids that first appeared in the Late Permian (approximately 260 mya), and extensively diversified after the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Cynodonts had a wide variet ...

("dog tooth"); ''

Cynognathus ''Cynognathus'' is an extinct genus of large-bodied cynodontian therapsids that lived in the Middle Triassic. It is known from a single species, ''Cynognathus crateronotus''. ''Cynognathus'' was a long predator closely related to mammals and ha ...

'' ("dog jaw"); ''

Cynopterus ''Cynopterus'' (Latin meaning: ״flying dog״) is a genus of megabats. The cynopterine section is represented by 11 genera,Andersen K. 1912. Catalogue of the chiroptera in the collection of the British Museum. Second edition, British Museum of N ...

'' ("dog wing"); ''

'' ("bear dog"); ''

Procyonidae Procyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It comprises the raccoons, ringtails, cacomistles, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, and olinguitos. Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments and are generally omnivorous. Characte ...

'' ("before the dog"); *-dactyl, -dactylus: ''Pronunciation'': /dæktəl/, /dæktələs/. ''Origin'': grc, δάκτυλος (''dáktulos''). ''Meaning'': finger, toe. *:Examples:

artiodactyl The even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla , ) are ungulates—hoofed animals—which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes: the third and fourth. The other three toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or pointing poster ...

("even toe"); ''

Pterodactylus ''Pterodactylus'' (from Greek () meaning 'winged finger') is an extinct genus of pterosaurs. It is thought to contain only a single species, ''Pterodactylus antiquus'', which was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying rept ...

'' ("wing finger");

perissodactyl Odd-toed ungulates, mammals which constitute the taxonomic order Perissodactyla (, ), are animals—ungulates—who have reduced the weight-bearing toes to three (rhinoceroses and tapirs, with tapirs still using four toes on the front legs) o ...

("uneven toe") * -deres: ''Origin'': grc, δέρη (''dére''). ''Meaning'': neck, collar. *:Examples: '' Acanthoderes'' ("spiny neck") *-derm: ''Pronunciation'': /dɜrm/. ''Origin'': grc, δέρμα (''dérma''). ''Meaning'': animal hide. Used for skin. *:Examples: placoderm ("plated skin");

echinoderm An echinoderm () is any member of the phylum Echinodermata (). The adults are recognisable by their (usually five-point) radial symmetry, and include starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the sea ...

("hedgehog skin");

ostracoderm Ostracoderms () are the armored jawless fish of the Paleozoic Era. The term does not often appear in classifications today because it is paraphyletic (excluding jawed fishes) (may also be polyphyletic if anaspids are closer to cyclostomes) an ...

("shell skin") *-delphys, -delphis, delpho-: ''Pronunciation'': /dɜlfɪs/, /dɜlfʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, δελφύς ('' delphis''). ''Meaning'': womb. Used for

theria Theria (; Greek: , wild beast) is a subclass of mammals amongst the Theriiformes. Theria includes the eutherians (including the placental mammals) and the metatherians (including the marsupials) but excludes the egg-laying monotremes. Chara ...

n mammals. *:Examples: ''

Sinodelphys ''Sinodelphys'' is an extinct eutherian from the Early Cretaceous, estimated to be 125 million years old. It was discovered and described in 2003 in rocks of the Yixian Formation in Liaoning Province, China, by a team of scientists including Zhe ...

'' ("Chinese womb"); ''

Didelphis ''Didelphis'' is a genus of New World marsupials. The six species in the genus ''Didelphis'', commonly known as Large American opossums, are members of the ''opossum'' order, Didelphimorphia. The genus ''Didelphis'' is composed of cat-sized ...

'' ("two wombs"); ''

Didelphodon ''Didelphodon'' (from ''is''/nowiki>.html" ;"title="/nowiki>''is''/nowiki>">/nowiki>''is''/nowiki> "opossum" plus "tooth") is a genus of stagodont metatherians from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Description Although perhaps little l ...

'' ("two-womb e_opossum.html"_;"title="opossum.html"_;"title="e_opossum">e_opossum">opossum.html"_;"title="e_opossum">e_opossumtooth");_'' e_opossum.html"_;"title="opossum.html"_;"title="e_opossum">e_opossum">opossum.html"_;"title="e_opossum">e_opossumtooth");_''Delphinus_(genus)">Delphinius''_("with_a_womb") *dendro-,_-dendron,_-dendrum:_''Pronunciation'':_/dɛn.dɹoʊ/,_/ˈdɛndɹən/,_/dɛndɹəm/._''Origin'':__grc.html" ;"title="Delphinus_(genus).html" ;"title="opossum">e_opossum.html" ;"title="opossum.html" ;"title="e opossum">e opossum">opossum.html" ;"title="e opossum">e opossumtooth"); ''Delphinus (genus)">Delphinius'' ("with a womb") *dendro-, -dendron, -dendrum: ''Pronunciation'': /dɛn.dɹoʊ/, /ˈdɛndɹən/, /dɛndɹəm/. ''Origin'': grc">δένδρον (''déndron''). ''Meaning'': tree. *:Examples: ''Rhododendron'' ("rose tree"); ''Liriodendron'' ("lily tree"); ''Dendrocnide'' ("tree nettle"); ''Epidendrum'' ("above tree") ''

Lepidodendron ''Lepidodendron'' is an extinct genus of primitive vascular plants belonging to the family Lepidodendraceae, part of a group of Lycopodiopsida known as scale trees or arborescent lycophytes, related to quillworts and lycopsids (club mosses). Th ...

'' (¨scaled tree¨) *di-: ''Pronunciation'': /daɪ/. ''Origin'': grc, δίς (''dís''). ''Meaning'': twice. Used to indicate two of something. *:Examples: ''

Dilophosaurus ''Dilophosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of theropod dinosaurs that lived in what is now North America during the Early Jurassic, about 193 million years ago. Three skeletons were discovered in northern Arizona in 1940, and the two best preserved ...

'' ("twice crested lizard"); '' Diceratops'' ("two-horned face");

diapsid Diapsids ("two arches") are a clade of sauropsids, distinguished from more primitive eureptiles by the presence of two holes, known as temporal fenestrae, in each side of their skulls. The group first appeared about three hundred million years ag ...

("two arches") *dino-, deino-: Pronunciation: /daɪnoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, δεινός (''deinós''). ''Meaning'': "terrible", "formidable". Used for presumably fearfully large or dangerous animals or animal parts. *:Examples:

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is ...

("terrible lizard"), '' Dinofelis'' ("terrible cat"), ''

Dinornis The giant moa (''Dinornis'') is an extinct genus of birds belonging to the moa family. As with other moa, it was a member of the order Dinornithiformes. It was endemic to New Zealand. Two species of ''Dinornis'' are considered valid, the Nort ...

'' ("terrible bird"); ''

Deinonychus ''Deinonychus'' ( ; ) is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur with one described species, ''Deinonychus antirrhopus''. This species, which could grow up to long, lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million y ...

'' ("terrible claw"), ''

'' ("terrible hand"); '' Dinodocus'' ("terrible beam"); ''

Deinosuchus ''Deinosuchus'' () is an extinct genus of alligatoroid crocodilian, related to modern alligators and caimans, that lived 82 to 73 million years ago (Ma), during the late Cretaceous period. The name translates as "terrible crocodile" and ...

'' ("terrible crocodile"), ''

Dinohippus ''Dinohippus'' (Greek: "Terrible horse") is an extinct equid which was endemic to North America from the late Hemphillian stage of the Miocene through the Zanclean stage of the Pliocene (10.3—3.6 mya) and in existence for approximately . Fo ...

'' ("terrible horse"), '' Dinosorex'' ("terrible shrew") '' Deinococcus'' ("terrible grannule") * diplo-: ''Pronunciation'': /dɪploʊ/, /dɪplo/. ''Origin'': grc, διπλόος, διπλοῦς (''diplóos'', ''diploûs''). ''Meaning'': double. *:Examples: ''

Diplodocus ''Diplodocus'' (, , or ) was a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs, whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a neo-Latin term derived from Greek διπ� ...

'' ("double beam");

Diplopoda Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a res ...

("double feet");

Diplomonad The diplomonads (Greek for "two units") are a group of flagellates, most of which are parasitic. They include '' Giardia duodenalis'', which causes giardiasis in humans. They are placed among the metamonads, and appear to be particularly close ...

("double unit"); '' Diplovertebron'' ("double vertebra") *-don, -'', -''donto-: see -odon, -odont, -odonto-. *draco-: ''Pronunciation'': /drakoʊs/ Origin: grc, δράκος (''drákos''). Meaning: dragon. *:Examples: ''

Dracophyllum ''Dracophyllum'' is a genus of plants belonging to the family Ericaceae, formerly Epacridaceae. There are 61 species in the genus, mostly shrubs, but also cushion plants and trees, found in New Zealand, Australia, Lord Howe Island and New Caledo ...

'' ("dragon race"); ''

Dracocephalum ''Dracocephalum'' is a genus of about 60Sonboli, A., et al. (2011)Molecular characterization of Iranian ''Dracocephalum'' (Lamiaceae) species based on RAPD data.''Acta Biologica Szegediensis'' 55(2), 227-30. to 70 speciesLazarević, P., et al. ( ...

'' ("dragon head"); '' Dracaena'' ("female dragon") *dromaeo-, dromeo-, -dromeus: ''Pronunciation'': /droʊmɪoʊ/, /droʊmɪəs/ ''Origin'': grc, δρομαῖος (''dromaîos''). Meaning: runner. *:Examples: ''

Dromaeosaurus ''Dromaeosaurus'' (, "running lizard") is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur which lived during the Late Cretaceous period (middle late Campanian and Maastrichtian), sometime between 80 and 69 million years ago, in Alberta, Canada and th ...

'' ("runner lizard"); ''

Kulindadromeus ''Kulindadromeus'' was a herbivorous dinosaur, a basal neornithischian from the Middle Jurassic. The first ''Kulindadromeus'' fossil was found in Russia. Its feather-like integument is evidence for protofeathers being basal to Ornithischia and ...

'' (" Kulinda runner"); ''

Thalassodromeus ''Thalassodromeus'' is a genus of pterosaur that lived in what is now Brazil during the Early Cretaceous period, about a hundred million years ago. The original skull, discovered in 1983 in the Araripe Basin of northeastern Brazil, was collec ...

'' ("sea runner"); ''

Eodromaeus ''Eodromaeus'' (meaning "dawn runner") is an extinct genus of probable basal theropod dinosaurs from the Late Triassic of Argentina. Like many other of the earliest-known dinosaurs, it hails from the Carnian-age (~230 Ma) Ischigualasto Formatio ...

'' ("dawn runner") *eo-: ''Pronunciation'': /iːoʊ̯/. ''Origin'': grc, ἠώς (''ēṓs''). ''Meaning'': dawn. Used for very early appearances of animals in the fossil record. *:Examples: ''

Eohippus ''Eohippus'' is an extinct genus of small equid ungulates. The only species is ''E. angustidens'', which was long considered a species of '' Hyracotherium''. Its remains have been identified in North America and date to the Early Eocene (Ypresian ...

'' ("dawn horse"); ''

Eomaia ''Eomaia'' ("dawn mother") is a genus of extinct fossil mammals containing the single species ''Eomaia scansoria'', discovered in rocks that were found in the Yixian Formation, Liaoning Province, China, and dated to the Barremian Age of the Lowe ...

'' ("dawn Maia"); ''

Eoraptor ''Eoraptor'' () is a genus of small, lightly built, basal sauropodomorph. One of the earliest-known dinosaurs, it lived approximately 231 to 228 million years ago, during the Late Triassic in Western Gondwana, in the region that is now northwes ...

'' ("dawn seizer") *-erpeton: ''Pronunciation'': /ɜrpətɒn/. ''Origin'': grc, ἑρπετόν (''herpetón''). ''Meaning'': reptile (literally, "creeping thing"); used for

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

. *:Examples: ''

Hynerpeton ''Hynerpeton'' ( ) is an extinct genus of early four-limbed vertebrate that lived in the rivers and ponds of Pennsylvania during the Late Devonian period, around 365 to 363 million years ago. The only known species of ''Hynerpeton'' is ''H. basse ...

'' (" Hyner creeper"); ''

Greererpeton ''Greererpeton burkemorani'' ("crawler from Greer, West Virginia") is an extinct genus of colosteid stem-tetrapods from the Early Carboniferous period (late Viséan) of North America. ''Greererpeton'' was first described by famed vertebrate pale ...

'' (" Greer creeper"); '' Arizonerpeton'' (" Arizona creeper"); ''

Albanerpeton ''Albanerpeton'' is an extinct genus of salamander-like lissamphibian found in North America and Europe, first appearing in Cretaceous-aged strata. There are eight described members of the genus, and one undiagnosed species from the Paskapoo F ...

'' ("La Grive Saint Alban creeper") *eu-: ''Pronunciation'': /iːu̟/. ''Origin'': grc, εὖ (''eû''). ''Meaning'': "good", "well"; also extended via

New Latin New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy a ...

to mean "true". Used in a variety of ways, often to indicate well-preserved specimens, well-developed bones, "truer" examples of fossil forms, or simply admiration on the part of the discoverer. *:Examples: ''

Euparkeria ''Euparkeria'' (; meaning "Parker's good animal", named in honor of W.K. Parker) is an extinct genus of archosauriform from the Middle Triassic of South Africa. It was a small reptile that lived between 245-230 million years ago, and was close ...

'' (" Parker's good

nimal Nimal may refer to *Nimal Bandara, Sri Lankan politician *Nimal Gamini Amaratunga, Sri Lankan judge *Nimal Gunaratne, Sri Lankan air force officer *Nimal Mendis, Sri Lankan politician *Nimal Piyatissa (born 1968), Sri Lankan politician *Nimal Raja ...

) ''

Euhelopus ''Euhelopus'' is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived between 145 and 133 million years ago during the Berriasian and Valanginian stages of the Early Cretaceous in what is now Shandong Province in China. It was a large quadrupedal herbivore. ...

'' ("good marsh foot") ''

Eustreptospondylus ''Eustreptospondylus'' ( ; meaning "true ''Streptospondylus''") is a genus of megalosaurid theropod dinosaur, from the Oxfordian stage of the Late Jurassic period (some time between 163 and 154 million years ago) in southern England, at ...

'' ("true ''

Streptospondylus ''Streptospondylus'' (meaning "reversed vertebra") is a genus of tetanuran theropod dinosaur known from the Late Jurassic period of France, 161 million years ago. It was a medium-sized predator with an estimated length of 6 meters (19.5&nb ...

''"); '' Eucoelophysis'' ("True

") *-felis: ''Pronunciation'': /fiːlɪs/. ''Origin'': la, felis, feles. ''Meaning'': cat. "''

Felis ''Felis'' is a genus of small and medium-sized cat species native to most of Africa and south of 60° latitude in Europe and Asia to Indochina. The genus includes the domestic cat. The smallest ''Felis'' species is the black-footed cat with a ...

''" alone is the genus name for the group that includes the

domestic cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

. *:Examples: '' Dinofelis'' ("terrible cat"); ''

Eofelis ''Eofelis'' is an extinct genus of small nimravid (false saber-toothed cats). They were catlike creatures that evolved in parallel with true cats but are not a part of the true cat lineage and have left no living descendants. Fossils have been ...

'' ("dawn cat"); '' Pardofelis'' ("leopard cat") *-form, -formes: ''Pronunciation'': /foʊrm/, /foʊrms/. ''Origin'': la, forma. ''Meaning'': shape, form. Used for large groups of animals that share similar characteristics; also used in names of bird and fish orders. *:Examples:

Galliformes Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are ofte ...

("chicken form");

Anseriformes Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

("goose form");

Squaliformes The Squaliformes are an order of sharks that includes about 126 species in seven families. Members of the order have two dorsal fins, which usually possess spines, they usually have a sharp head, no anal fin or nictitating membrane, and fiv ...

("shark form") *giga-, giganto-: ''Pronunciation'': /d͡ʒaɪgə/, /d͡ʒaɪgæntoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, γίγας, γῐ́γᾰντος (''gígas, gigantos''). ''Meaning'': giant, of a giant, respectively. Used for large species. *:Examples: ''

Giganotosaurus ''Giganotosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina, during the early Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 99.6 to 95 million years ago. The holotype specimen was discovered in the ...

'' ("giant southern lizard"); ''

Gigantopithecus ''Gigantopithecus'' ( ; ) is an extinct genus of ape from roughly 2 million to 350,000 years ago during the Early to Middle Pleistocene of southern China, represented by one species, ''Gigantopithecus blacki''. Potential identifications have al ...

'' ("giant ape"); ''

Gigantoraptor ''Gigantoraptor'' () is a genus of large oviraptorosaur dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. It is known from the Iren Dabasu Formation of Inner Mongolia, where the first remains were found in 2005. ''Gigantoraptor'' w ...

'' ("giant seizer"); '' Gigantopterus'' ("giant fin") *-gnath-, gnatho-, -gnathus: ''Pronunciation'': /neɪθ/, /neɪθoʊ/, /neɪθəs/ (or /gneɪθəs/). ''Origin'': grc, γνάθος (''gnáthos''). ''Meaning'': jaw. *:Examples: ''

Caenagnathasia ''Caenagnathasia'' ('recent jaw from Asia') is a small caenagnathid oviraptorosaurian theropod from the Late Cretaceous of Uzbekistan. Discovery The type species ''Caenagnathasia martinsoni'' was named and described in 1994 by Philip J. Currie, ...

'' ("recent Asian jaw"); ''

Gnathostoma ''Gnathostoma'' is a genus of parasitic nematode The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant- parasitic nematodes also known as eelw ...

'' ("jaw mouth"); ''

'' ("dog jaw"); ''

Compsognathus ''Compsognathus'' (; Greek ''kompsos''/κομψός; "elegant", "refined" or "dainty", and ''gnathos''/γνάθος; "jaw") is a genus of small, bipedal, carnivorous theropod dinosaur. Members of its single species ''Compsognathus longipes'' c ...

'' ("elegant jaw"); ''

Gnathosaurus ''Gnathosaurus'' (meaning "jawed lizard") is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur containing two species: ''G. subulatus'', named in 1833 from the Solnhofen Limestone of Germany, and ''G. macrurus'', known from the Purbeck Limestone of the UK ...

'' ("jaw lizard") *haplo-: ''Pronunciation'': /hæplə/. ''Origin'': grc, ἁπλῶς- (''haplós-''). ''Meaning:'' simple. *:Examples: ''

Haplorhini Haplorhini (), the haplorhines (Greek for "simple-nosed") or the "dry-nosed" primates, is a suborder of primates containing the tarsiers and the simians (Simiiformes or anthropoids), as sister of the Strepsirrhini ("moist-nosed"). The name is some ...

'' ("simple-nosed");

("simple hand") *hemi-: ''Pronunciation'': /hɛmi/. ''Origin'': grc, ἡμι- (''hēmi-''). ''Meaning:'' half. *:Examples: '' Hemicyon'' ("half-dog");

hemichordate Hemichordata is a phylum which consists of triploblastic, enterocoelomate, and bilaterally symmetrical marine deuterostome animals, generally considered the sister group of the echinoderms. They appear in the Lower or Middle Cambrian and inclu ...

("half-chordate");

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from to aroun ...

("half-wing") *hespero-: ''Pronunciation'': /hɛspəroʊ/. ''Origin'': (''hésperos''). ''Meaning'': western (originally, "evening"). *:Examples: ''

Hesperornis ''Hesperornis'' (meaning "western bird") is a genus of cormorant-like bird that spanned the first half of the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period (83.5–78 mya). One of the lesser-known discoveries of the paleontologist O. C. Marsh i ...

'' ("western bird"); ''

Hesperocyon ''Hesperocyon'' is an extinct genus of canids (subfamily Hesperocyoninae, family Canidae) that was endemic to North America, ranging from southern Canada to Colorado. It appeared during the Uintan age, – Bridgerian age (NALMA) of the Mid-Eocene ...

'' ("western dog"); ''

Hesperosaurus ''Hesperosaurus'' (meaning "western lizard", from Classical Greek (') "western" and (') "lizard") is an herbivorous stegosaurian dinosaur from the Kimmeridgian epoch of the Jurassic period, approximately 156 million years ago. Fossils of ''Hes ...

'' ("western lizard") * hippus, hippo-: Pronunciation: /hɪpəs/, /hɪpoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, ἵππος (''híppos''). ''Meaning'': horse. *:Examples: ''

'' ("dawn horse"); ''

Hippodraco ''Hippodraco'' is a genus of iguanodontian ornithopod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah, United States. The genus contains a single species, ''H. scutodens'', known from a partial skeleton belonging to an immatur ...

'' ("horse dragon");

Hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant ...

("river horse") *hyl-, hylo-: ''Pronunciation'': /haɪl/, /haɪloʊ/ (or /haɪlɒ/). ''Origin'': grc, ὕλη ("húlē"). ''Meaning:'' wood, forest. *:Examples: ''

Hylonomus ''Hylonomus'' (; ''hylo-'' "forest" + ''nomos'' "dweller") is an extinct genus of reptile that lived 312 million years ago during the Late Carboniferous period. It is the earliest unquestionable reptile (''Westlothiana'' is older, but in fact it ...

'' ("forest dweller"); ''

'' ("forest walker"); ''

Hylarana ''Hylarana'', commonly known as golden-backed frogs, is a genus of true frogs found in tropical Asia. It was formerly considered highly diverse, containing around 84 to 96 valid species, but taxonomic revision resulted in a major change in the c ...

'' ("forest frog") *-ia: ''Pronunciation'': /iːə/. ''Origin'': grc, -ια, -εια (''-ia, -eia''). ''Meaning:'' an abstraction usually used as an honorific for a person or place. *:Examples: ''

Dickinsonia ''Dickinsonia'' is an extinct genus of basal animal that lived during the late Ediacaran period in what is now Australia, China, Russia and Ukraine. The individual ''Dickinsonia'' typically resembles a bilaterally symmetrical ribbed oval. Its a ...

'' ("for Dickinson"); ''

Cooksonia ''Cooksonia'' is an extinct group of primitive land plants, treated as a genus, although probably not monophyletic. The earliest ''Cooksonia'' date from the middle of the Silurian (the Wenlock epoch); the group continued to be an important comp ...

'' ("for Cookson"); '' Coloradia'' ("for

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

"); ''

Edmontonia ''Edmontonia'' is a genus of panoplosaurin nodosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period. It is part of the Nodosauridae, a family within Ankylosauria. It is named after the Edmonton Formation (now the Horseshoe Canyon Formation in Canada) ...

'' ("for

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

"); ''

Thomashuxleya ''Thomashuxleya'' is an extinct genus of notoungulate mammal, named after famous 19th-century biologist Thomas Huxley. Description ''Thomashuxleya'' was about in length and weighted an estimated , with a heavy body and strong limbs.D. Patter ...

'' ("for

Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The storie ...

") *ichthyo-, -ichthys: ''Pronunciation'': /ɪkθioʊs/, /ɪkθis/. ''Origin'': grc, ἰχθῦς (''ikhthûs''). ''Meaning'': fish. The suffix "-ichthys" is used for fish, while the prefix "ichthyo-", while used for fish, is also used for fish-like creatures. *:Examples: ''

Ichthyosaurus ''Ichthyosaurus'' (derived from Greek ' () meaning 'fish' and ' () meaning 'lizard') is a genus of ichthyosaurs from the Early Jurassic (Hettangian - Pliensbachian), with possible Late Triassic record, from Europe (Belgium, England, Germany, Swi ...

'' ("fish lizard"); ''

Leedsichthys ''Leedsichthys'' is an extinct genus of pachycormid fish that lived in the oceans of the Middle to Late Jurassic.Liston, JJ (2004). An overview of the pachycormiform ''Leedsichthys''. In: Arratia G and Tintori A (eds) Mesozoic Fishes 3 - Syste ...

'' ("Leeds's fish"); '' Haikouichthys'' ("

Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the H ...

fish"); ''

Ichthyostega ''Ichthyostega'' (from el, ἰχθῦς , 'fish' and el, στέγη , 'roof') is an extinct genus of limbed tetrapodomorphs from the Late Devonian of Greenland. It was among the earliest four-limbed vertebrates in the fossil record, and was on ...

'' ("fish roof") *-lania, ''Pronunciation'': /læniːə/, ''Origin'': grc, ἀλαίνειν (''alaínein''): ''Meaning'': to wander. Used for animals that are found in most places around continents. *:Examples: ''

Meiolania ''Meiolania'' ("small roamer") is an extinct genus of meiolaniid stem-turtle native to Australasia from the Middle Miocene to Late Pleistocene and possibly Holocene. It is best known from fossils found on Lord Howe Island, though fossils are kno ...

'' ("weak wanderer"); ''

Megalania Megalania (''Varanus priscus'') is an extinct species of giant monitor lizard, part of the megafaunal assemblage that inhabited Australia during the Pleistocene. It is the largest terrestrial lizard known to have existed, reaching an estimated ...

'' ("great wanderer") *leo-: Pronunciation: /lɛʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, λέων (''léon''): Meaning: lion. *:Examples: ''

Leopardus ''Leopardus'' is a genus comprising eight species of small cats native to the Americas. This genus is considered the oldest branch of a genetic lineage of small cats in the Americas whose common ancestor crossed the Bering land bridge from Asi ...

'' ("spotted lion"); '' Leontopodium'' ("lion foot"); ''

Leontopithecus The four species of lion tamarins or maned marmosets make up the genus ''Leontopithecus''. They are small New World monkeys named for the mane surrounding their face, similar to the mane of a lion. Description Living in the eastern rainforests ...

'' ("lion ape") *-lepis, lepido-: ''Pronunciation'': /lɛpɪs/ /lɛpɪdoʊ/ (or /lɛpɪdɒ/). ''Origin'': grc, λεπίς ('). ''Meaning'': scale. *:Examples: '' Mongolepis'' ("Mongol scale"); ''

Stagonolepis ''Stagonolepis'' is an extinct genus of stagonolepidid aetosaur known from the Late Triassic ( Carnian stage) Hassberge Formation of Germany, the Drawno Beds of Poland, and the Lossiemouth Sandstone of Scotland. Supposed fossils from North a ...

'' ("ornamented scale"); '' Polymerolepis'' ("many part scale");

Lepidosauria The Lepidosauria (, from Greek meaning ''scaled lizards'') is a subclass or superorder of reptiles, containing the orders Squamata and Rhynchocephalia. Squamata includes snakes, lizards, and amphisbaenians. Squamata contains over 9,000 species ...

("scaled lizards"); ''

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described specie ...

'' ("scaled wing"); ''

'' ("scaled tree") *-lestes: ''Pronunciation'': /lɛstiːz/. ''Origin'': grc, λῃστής ('')''. ''Meaning'': robber. *:Examples: '' Carpolestes'' ("fruit robber"); ''

Ornitholestes ''Ornitholestes'' (meaning "bird robber") is a small theropod dinosaur of the late Jurassic (Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation, middle Kimmeridgian age, about 154 million years agoTurner, C.E. and Peterson, F., (1999). "Biostratigrap ...

'' ("bird robber"); ''

Sarcolestes ''Sarcolestes'' (meaning "flesh robber") is an extinct genus of ankylosaurian ornithischian dinosaur from the Oxford Clay of England. The current type and only species is ''S. leedsi'', and the holotype is a single partial left mandible. The ...

'' ("flesh robber"); ''

Necrolestes ''Necrolestes'' ("grave robber" or "thief of the dead") is an extinct genus of mammals, which lived during the Early Miocene in what is now Argentine Patagonia. It is the most recent known genus of Meridiolestida, an extinct group of mammals more ...

'' ("grave robber") *long: ''Pronunciation'': /lʊng/. ''Origin'': zh, s=龙, t=龍. ''Meaning'': dragon. Used for dinosaur finds in China. *:Examples: ''

Mei long ''Mei'' (from Chinese 寐 mèi ''Sleepy'') is a genus of duck-sized troodontid dinosaur first unearthed by paleontologists from the Yixian Formation in Liaoning, China in 2004. ''Mei'' lived during the Early Cretaceous period. The binomial name ...

'' ("sleeping dragon"); '' Bolong'' ("small dragon"); ''

Zuolong ''Zuolong'' (Zuo's dragon) is a genus of coelurosaur dinosaur which existed in what is now Wucaiwan, Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China during the Late Jurassic period (lower Oxfordian stage). It was found in the Shishugou Formation, Xinjian ...

'' (" Zuo's dragon"); ''

Shaochilong ''Shaochilong'' (meaning "shark toothed dragon") is an extinct genus of carcharodontosaurid dinosaur from the mid-Cretaceous (Late Cenomanian to the end of the Turonian stage) Ulansuhai Formation of China (about 92 million years ago). The type ...

'' ("shark toothed dragon") *-lopho-, -lophus: ''Pronunciation'': /lɒfoʊ/, /ləfəs/. ''Origin'': grc, λόφος ('). ''Meaning'': A bird's crest. Used for animals with crests on their heads. *:Examples: ''

'' ("two-crested lizard"); ''

'' ("short-crested lizard"); ''

Saurolophus ''Saurolophus'' (; meaning "lizard crest") is a genus of large hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of Asia and North America, that lived in what is now the Horseshoe Canyon and Nemegt formations about 70 million to 68 million ...

'' ("lizard crest") * lyco-: ''Pronunciation'': /lɪkoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, λύκος ('). ''Meaning'': wolf. *:Examples: ''

Lycopodium ''Lycopodium'' (from Greek ''lykos'', wolf and ''podion'', diminutive of ''pous'', foot) is a genus of clubmosses, also known as ground pines or creeping cedars, in the family Lycopodiaceae. Two very different circumscriptions of the genus are i ...

'' ("wolf foot"); '' Lycodon'' ("wolf tooth"); ''

Lycoperdon ''Lycoperdon'' is a genus of puffball mushrooms. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains about 50 species. In general, it contains the smaller species such as the pear-shaped puffball and the gem-studded puffball. It was formerly cl ...

'' ("wolf fart") *macro-: ''Pronunciation'': /mækroʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, μακρός (''makrós''). ''Meaning'': (correctly) long; (usually) large. *:Examples: macropod ("big foot"); ''

Macrodontophion ''Macrodontophion'' (meaning "long-toothed snake") is the name given to a dubious genus of lophotrochozoan from the Early Devonian Dniester Series of Podolia, Ukraine. It was described by Adalbert Zborzewsky in 1834, but was never given a spec ...

'' ("big tooth snake"); ''

Macrogryphosaurus ''Macrogryphosaurus'' (meaning "big enigmatic lizard") is a genus of elasmarian dinosaur from the Coniacian age Upper Cretaceous Sierra Barrosa Formation ( Neuquén Group) of Argentina in Patagonia. It was described by Jorge Calvo and colleagu ...

'' ("big enigmatic lizard") *-maia, maia-: ''Pronunciation'': /meiə/ ''Origin'': grc, Μαῖα (''Maîa''). ''Meaning'': Originally the mother of Hermes in Greek mythology and the goddess of growth in Roman mythology, alternatively spelled Maja. Frequently used to indicate maternal roles, this word should not be construed as translating directly to "mother" (Latin māter; Ancient Greek μήτηρ ''mḗtēr''); aside from being a proper name, in Ancient Greek "maîa" can translate to "midwife" or "foster mother" and was used as an honorific address for older women, typically translated into English as "Good Mother". *:Examples: ''

Maiasaura ''Maiasaura'' (from the Greek ''μαῖα'', meaning "good mother" and ''σαύρα'', the feminine form of ''saurus'', meaning "reptile") is a large herbivorous saurolophine hadrosaurid ("duck-billed") dinosaur genus that lived in the area curr ...

'' ("Good Mother/Maia's lizard"); ''

'' ("dawn Maia"); ''

Juramaia ''Juramaia'' is an extinct genus of very basal eutherian mammal known from the Late Jurassic ( Oxfordian stage) deposits of western Liaoning, China. It is a small shrew-like mammal with a body length of approximately 70–100 mm, making it ...

'' ( Jurassic Maia"); ''

Maiacetus ''Maiacetus'' ("mother whale") is a genus of early middle Eocene (c. 47.5 mya) cetacean from the Habib Rahi Formation of Pakistan. Paleobiology The genus contains a single species, ''Maiacetus inuus'', first described in 2009 on the basis of ...

'' ("mother whale") *mega-, megalo-: ''Pronunciation'': /mɛga/, /mɛgaloʊ̯/. ''Origin'': grc, μέγας, μεγάλη (''mégas, megálē''). ''Meaning'': big. *:Examples: '' Megarachne'' ("big spider"); ''

Megalosaurus ''Megalosaurus'' (meaning "great lizard", from Greek , ', meaning 'big', 'tall' or 'great' and , ', meaning 'lizard') is an extinct genus of large carnivorous theropod dinosaurs of the Middle Jurassic period (Bathonian stage, 166 million years ...

'' ("big lizard"); ''

megalodon Megalodon (''Otodus megalodon''), meaning "big tooth", is an extinct species of mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (Mya), from the Early Miocene to the Pliocene epochs. It was formerly thought to be a member ...

'' ("big tooth") *micro-: ''Pronunciation'': /maɪkroʊ̯/. ''Origin'': grc, μικρός (''mikrós''). ''Meaning'': "small". *:Examples: ''

Microraptor ''Microraptor'' (Greek, μικρός, ''mīkros'': "small"; Latin, ''raptor'': "one who seizes") is a genus of small, four-winged dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. Numerous well-preserved fossil specimens have been recovered from Liaoning, China. They dat ...

'' ("small seizer") '' Microvenator'' ("small hunter"); '' Microceratops'' ("small horned face") *mimo-, -mimus: /maɪmoʊ̯/, /maɪməs/. ''Origin'': la, mimus. ''Meaning'': actor. Used for creatures that resemble others. *:Examples: ''

Struthiomimus ''Struthiomimus'' (meaning "ostrich mimic", from the Greek στρούθειος/''stroutheios'' meaning "of the ostrich" and μῖμος/''mimos'' meaning "mimic" or "imitator") is a genus of ornithomimid dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous of No ...

''; ("ostrich mimic"); ''

Ornithomimus ''Ornithomimus'' (; "bird mimic") is a genus of ornithomimid dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America. ''Ornithomimus'' was a swift bipedal theropod which fossil evidence indicates was covered in feathers, equipped ...

'' ("bird mimic"); ''

Gallimimus ''Gallimimus'' ( ) is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous period, about seventy million years ago (mya). Several fossils in various stages of growth were discovered by Polish-Mongolian expe ...

'' ("chicken mimic"); ornithomimosaur ("bird mimic lizard") * -monas, -monad: ''Pronunciation'': /moʊnas/, /monas/, /moʊnad/, /monad/. ''Origin'': grc, μονάς (''monás''). ''Meaning'': unit. Used for single-celled organisms. *:Examples: ''

Chlamydomonas ''Chlamydomonas'' is a genus of green algae consisting of about 150 speciesSmith, G.M. 1955 ''Cryptogamic Botany Volume 1. Algae and Fungi'' McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc of unicellular flagellates, found in stagnant water and on damp soil, i ...

'' ("cloak unit"); ''

Pseudomonas ''Pseudomonas'' is a genus of Gram-negative, Gammaproteobacteria, belonging to the family Pseudomonadaceae and containing 191 described species. The members of the genus demonstrate a great deal of metabolic diversity and consequently are able to ...

'' ("false unit");

Metamonad The metamonads are microscopic eukaryotic organisms, a large group of flagellate amitochondriate Loukozoa. Their composition is not entirely settled, but they include the retortamonads, diplomonads, and possibly the parabasalids and oxymonads as ...

("encompassing unit") *-morph: ''Pronunciation'': /moʊrf/. ''Origin'': grc, μορφή (''morphḗ''). ''Meaning'': form, shape. Used for large groups of animals which share a common genetic lineage *:Examples: crocodylomorphs ("crocodile form");

sauropodomorphs Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had lo ...

sauropod Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their b ...

form");

Muscomorpha The Brachyceran infraorder Muscomorpha is a large and diverse group of flies, containing the bulk of the Brachycera, and, most of the known flies. It includes a number of the most familiar flies, such as the housefly, the fruit fly, and the blo ...

fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

form") ''

Dimorphodon ''Dimorphodon'' was a genus of medium-sized pterosaur from the early Jurassic Period. It was named by paleontologist Richard Owen in 1859. ''Dimorphodon'' means "two-form tooth", derived from the Greek (') meaning "two", (') meaning "shape" a ...

'' ("two forms of teeth") *-nax, -anax-: ''Pronunciation'': /nax/, /ænax/. ''Origin:'' grc, ἄναξ (''ánax''). ''Meaning'': king. *:Examples: ''

Lythronax ''Lythronax'' () is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in North America around 81.9-81.5 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. The only known specimen was discovered in Utah in the Wahweap Formation of the Grand Stair ...

'' ("gore king") ''

Saurophaganax ''Saurophaganax'' ("lord of lizard-eaters") is a genus of large allosaurid dinosaur from the Morrison Formation of Late Jurassic (latest Kimmeridgian age, about 151 million years ago) Oklahoma, United States.Turner, C.E. and Peterson, F., (1999 ...

'' ("king of the lizard-eaters") *-noto-: ''Pronunciation'': /notoʊ/. ''Origin'': . ''Meaning'': south, southern wind. Used for organisms found in the Southern Hemisphere. *:Examples: ''

'' ("giant southern lizard"); ''

Notosuchus ''Notosuchus'' (; 'southern crocodile') is an extinct genus of South American notosuchian crocodylomorph. It was terrestrial, living approximately 85 million years ago in the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Description ''Notosuchus'' wa ...

'' ("southern crocodile"); Notopalaeognathae ("southern old jaws") *-nych, nycho-, -nyx: see -onych, onycho-, -onyx. *-odon, -odont, -odonto-: ''Pronunciation'': /oʊdɒn/, /oʊdɒnt/, /oʊdɒntoʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, ὀδούς (''odoús''). ''Meaning'': tooth. *:Examples: ''

Dimetrodon ''Dimetrodon'' ( or ,) meaning "two measures of teeth,” is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian), around 295–272 million years ago (Mya). It is a member of the family Sphenacodonti ...

'' ("two-measures of teeth"),

cynodont The cynodonts () ( clade Cynodontia) are a clade of eutheriodont therapsids that first appeared in the Late Permian (approximately 260 mya), and extensively diversified after the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Cynodonts had a wide variet ...

("dog tooth") ''

'' ("serrated tooth lizard") *-oides, -odes: ''Pronunciation'': /oiːdiːz/, /oʊːdiːz/. ''Origin'': grc, εἶδος (''eîdos''). ''Meaning'': likeness. Used for species that resemble other species. *:Examples: '' Hypocnemoides'' ("like Hypocnemis"); '' Aetobarbakinoides'' ("like the

long-legged buzzard The long-legged buzzard (''Buteo rufinus'') is a bird of prey found widely in several parts of Eurasia and in North Africa. This species ranges from Southeastern Europe down to East Africa to the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The long ...

"); '' Callianthemoides'' ("like '' Callianthemum''"); ''

Argyrodes ''Argyrodes'', also called dewdrop spiders, is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1864. They occur worldwide, and are best known for their kleptoparasitism. They can spin their own webs, but tend to ...

'' ("like silver") *onycho-, -onychus, -onyx: /ɒnikoʊ/, /ɒnikəs/ (or /ɒnaɪkoʊ/, ɒnaɪkəs/), /ɒniks/. ''Origin'': grc, ὄνυξ (''ónux''). ''Meaning'': claw. *:Examples: ''

'' ("terrible claw"); ''

Euronychodon ''Euronychodon'' ("European claw tooth") is the name given to a genus of coelurosaur dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Europe and Asia. ''Euronychodon'' is known from teeth only. These are similar to those of another coelurosaur tooth genus, ...

'' ("European claw tooth"); ''

Nothronychus ''Nothronychus'' (meaning "slothful claw") is a genus of therizinosaurid theropod dinosaurs that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous period. The type species, ''Nothronychus mckinleyi'', was described by James Kirkland and Dougla ...

'' ("sloth claw"), ''

Baryonyx ''Baryonyx'' () is a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived in the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, about 130–125 million years ago. The first skeleton was discovered in 1983 in the Smokejack Clay Pit, of Surrey, England, in s ...

'' ("heavy claw") *ophi-: ''Pronunciation'': /ɒfɪs/. ''Origin'': grc, ὄφις (''óphis''). ''Meaning'': snake. Used for

Ophidia __FORCETOC__ Ophidia (also known as Pan-Serpentes) is a group of squamate reptiles including modern snakes and reptiles more closely related to snakes than to other living groups of lizards. Ophidia was defined as the "most recent common ancesto ...

or snake-like animals. *:Examples: ''

Ophiacodon ''Ophiacodon'' (meaning "snake tooth") is an extinct genus of synapsid belonging to the family Ophiacodontidae that lived from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian in North America and Europe. The genus was named along with its type specie ...

'' ("snake tooth"); ''

Ophisaurus ''Ophisaurus'' (from the Greek 'snake-lizard') is a genus of superficially snake-like lizards in the family Anguidae. Known as joint snakes, glass snakes, or glass lizards, they are so-named because their tails are easily broken; like many liz ...

'' ("snake lizard"); '' Ophiopogon'' ("snake beard") *-ops: ''Pronunciation'': /ɒps/. ''Origin'': grc, ὄψ (''óps''). ''Meaning'': face. *:Examples: ''

'' ("three-horned face"); ''

Lycaenops ''Lycaenops'' ("wolf-face") is a genus of carnivorous therapsids. It lived during the Middle Permian to the early Late Permian, about 260 mya, in what is now South Africa. Description ''Lycaenops'' measured about and weighed up to . Like the ...

'' ("wolf face"); ''

Moschops ''Moschops'' (Greek for "calf face") is an extinct genus of therapsids that lived in the Guadalupian epoch, around 265–260 million years ago. They were heavily built plant eaters, and they may have lived partly in water, as hippopotamuses do. ...

'' ("calf face"); '' Spinops'' ("spine face") *-ornis, ornith-, ornitho-: ''Pronunciation'': /oʊ̯rnɪs/, /oʊ̯rnɪθ/, /oʊ̯rnɪθoʊ̯/. ''Origin'': grc, ὄρνις, ὄρνιθος (''órnis, órnithos''). ''Meaning'': bird, of a bird respectively. "ornith-" and "ornitho-" are generally used for animals with birdlike characteristics; the suffix "-ornis" is generally applied to fossil bird species. *:Examples:

ornithischian Ornithischia () is an extinct order of mainly herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by a pelvic structure superficially similar to that of birds. The name ''Ornithischia'', or "bird-hipped", reflects this similarity and is derived from the Greek s ...

("bird-hipped"); ''

'' ("bird-hand"); '' Eoconfuciusornis'' (" Confucius's dawn bird") *pachy-: ''Pronunciation'': /pæki/ ''Origin'': grc, παχύς (''pakhús''). ''Meaning'': thick. *:Examples: ''

'' ("thick-headed lizard"); ''

Pachylemur ''Pachylemur'' is an extinct, giant lemur most closely related to the ruffed lemurs of genus ''Varecia''. Two species are known, ''Pachylemur insignis'' and ''Pachylemur jullyi'', although there is some doubt as to whether or not they may actua ...

'' ("thick lemur"); '' Pachyuromys'' ("thick tailed mouse");

Pachydermata Pachydermata (meaning 'thick skin', from the Greek grc, παχύς, pachys, thick, label=none, and grc, δέρμα, derma, skin, label=none) is an obsolete order of mammals described by Gottlieb Storr, Georges Cuvier, and others, at one time re ...

("thick skin") *para-: ''Pronunciation'': /pærɑː/ ''Origin'': grc, παρά (''pará''). ''Meaning'': near. Used for species that resemble previously named species. *:Examples: ''

Paranthodon ''Paranthodon'' ( ) is a genus of stegosaurian dinosaur that lived in what is now South Africa during the Early Cretaceous, between 139 and 131 million years ago. Discovered in 1845, it was one of the first stegosaurians found. Its only rem ...

'' ("near '' Anthodon''"); ''

Pararhabdodon ''Pararhabdodon'' (meaning "near fluted tooth" in reference to ''Rhabdodon'') is a genus of tsintaosaurin hadrosaurid dinosaur, from the Maastrichtian-age Upper Cretaceous Tremp Group of Spain. The first remains were discovered from the Sant Rom ...

'' ("near ''

Rhabdodon ''Rhabdodon'' (meaning "fluted tooth") is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in Europe approximately 70-66 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous. It is similar in build to a very robust "hypsilophodont" (non-iguanodont ornithopod), tho ...

''"); ''

Parasaurolophus ''Parasaurolophus'' (; meaning "near crested lizard" in reference to ''Saurolophus)'' is a genus of herbivorous hadrosaurid ornithopod dinosaur that lived in what is now North America and possibly Asia during the Late Cretaceous Period, about ...

'' ("near ''

'')" * -pelta: ''Pronunciation'': / pɛltə:/ ''Origin'': grc, πέλτη (''péltē''). ''Meaning'': shield. Frequently used for

ankylosaurs Ankylosauria is a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the order Ornithischia. It includes the great majority of dinosaurs with armor in the form of bony osteoderms, similar to turtles. Ankylosaurs were bulky quadrupeds, with short, powerful limbs. ...

. *:Examples: '' Sauropelta'' ("lizard shield"); ''

Dracopelta ''Dracopelta'' (meaning “dragon shield”) is a monospecific genus of ankylosaur dinosaur from Portugal that lived during the Late Jurassic (uppermost lower Tithonian-upper Tithonian, 152.1-145.0 Ma) in what is now the Lourinhã Formation. T ...

'' ("dragon shield"); ''

Cedarpelta ''Cedarpelta'' is a extinct genus of basal ankylosaurid dinosaur from Utah that lived during the Late Cretaceous period (Cenomanian to lower Turonian stage, 98.2 to 93 Ma) in what is now the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation. Th ...

'' ("

Cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

shield") *-philus, -phila, philo-: ''Pronunciation'': /fiːləs/, /fiːlə/, /fiːloʊ/. ''Origin'': (''phílos''). ''Meaning'': dear, beloved, loving. Used for organisms perceived as having a fondness for a particular thing. *:Examples: '' Sarcophilus'' ("flesh-loving"); ''

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species ...

'' ("dew-loving");

("flower-loving"); ''

Philodendron ''Philodendron'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. , the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families accepted 489 species; other sources accept different numbers. Regardless of number of species, the genus is the secon ...

'' ("loving trees") *-phyton, -phyta, phyto-, -phyte: ''Pronunciation'': /faɪtən/, /faitə/, /faɪtoʊ/, /faɪt/. ''Origin'': (''phutón''). ''Meaning'': plant. *:Examples: ''

Spermatophyta A spermatophyte (; ), also known as phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds, hence the alternative name seed plant. Spermatophytes are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants. They inc ...

'' ("seed plant");

Rhyniophyte The rhyniophytes are a group of extinct early vascular plants that are considered to be similar to the genus ''Rhynia'', found in the Early Devonian (around ). Sources vary in the name and rank used for this group, some treating it as the class R ...

(" Rhynie plant"); ''

Phytophthora ''Phytophthora'' (from Greek (''phytón''), "plant" and (), "destruction"; "the plant-destroyer") is a genus of plant-damaging oomycetes (water molds), whose member species are capable of causing enormous economic losses on crops worldwide, a ...

'' ("plant destroyer"); ''

Phytolacca ''Phytolacca'' is a genus of perennial plants native to North America, South America and East Asia. Some members of the genus are known as pokeweeds or similar names such as pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot or poke sallet. Other names for species ...

'' ("plant

lac Lac is the resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated is '' Kerria lacca''. Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infe ...

") *-pithecus, pitheco-: ''Pronunciation'': /piθəkəs/, /piθəkoʊ/, //piθəkə/. ''Origin'': grc, πίθηκος (''píthēkos''). ''Meaning'': ape, monkey. *:Examples: ''

Australopithecus ''Australopithecus'' (, ; ) is a genus of early hominins that existed in Africa during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. The genus ''Homo'' (which includes modern humans) emerged within ''Australopithecus'', as sister to e.g. ''Australopi ...

'' ("southern ape"); ''

Ardipithecus ''Ardipithecus'' is a genus of an extinct hominine that lived during the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene epochs in the Afar Depression, Ethiopia. Originally described as one of the earliest ancestors of humans after they diverged from the chimp ...

'' ("floor ape"); ''

'' ("giant ape"); ''

Pithecellobium ''Pithecellobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words πίθηκος (''pithêkos''), meaning "ape" or "monkey," and ἐλλόβιον (''ellobion''), meaning "earring," which r ...

'' ("monkey earring") *platy-: ''Pronunciation'': /ˈplætɪ/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek πλατύς (''platús''). ''Meaning'': flat. Used for creatures that are flat or have flat parts. *:Examples: ''

Platyhelminthes The flatworms, flat worms, Platyhelminthes, or platyhelminths (from the Greek πλατύ, ''platy'', meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root: ἑλμινθ-), ''helminth-'', meaning "worm") are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegment ...

'' ("flat worm"); ''

Platybelodon ''Platybelodon'' ("flat-spear tusk") is an extinct genus of large herbivorous proboscidean mammals related to modern-day elephants. Species lived during the middle Miocene Epoch in Africa, Asia and the Caucasus. Palaeobiology ''Platybelodon'' w ...

'' ("flat spear-tusk"); ''

Platycodon ''Platycodon grandiflorus'' (from Ancient Greek "wide" and "bell") is a species of herbaceous flowering perennial plant of the family Campanulaceae, and the only member of the genus ''Platycodon''. It is native to East Asia (China, Korea, Japa ...

'' ("flat bell");

platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypi ...

("flat foot) *plesio-, plesi-: ''Pronunciation'': /pliːziːoʊ/, /pliːz/ (or pliːʒ/). ''Origin'': Ancient Greek πλησίον (''plēsíon''). ''Meaning'': near. Used for species that bear similarities to other species. *:Examples: ''

Plesiosaurus ''Plesiosaurus'' (Greek: ' ('), near to + ' ('), lizard) is a genus of extinct, large marine sauropterygian reptile that lived during the Early Jurassic. It is known by nearly complete skeletons from the Lias of England. It is distinguishable by ...

'' ("near lizard"); ''

Plesiorycteropus ''Plesiorycteropus'', also known as the bibymalagasy or Malagasy aardvark, is a recently extinct eutherian mammalian genus from Madagascar. Upon its description in 1895, it was classified with the aardvark, but more recent molecular evidence ins ...

'' ("near

aardvark The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike ...

"); ''

Plesiobaena ''Plesiobaena'' is an extinct genus of turtle which existed in the Belly River Formation, Canada during the late Cretaceous period (Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of ...

'' ("near ''Baena''"); ''

Plesiadapis ''Plesiadapis'' is one of the oldest known primate-like mammal genera which existed about 58–55 million years ago in North America and Europe. ''Plesiadapis'' means "near-Adapis", which is a reference to the adapiform primate of the Eocene ...

'' ("near '' Adapis''") *-pod, podo-, -pus: ''Pronunciation'': /pɒd/, /pɒdoʊ/, /pʊs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek πούς, ποδός (''poús, podós''). ''Meaning'': foot, of the foot, respectively. *:Examples:

Ornithopod Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous world ...

("bird foot"); '' Brachypodosaurus'' ("short footed lizard"); ''

Moropus ''Moropus'' (meaning "slow foot") is an extinct genus of large perissodactyl ("odd-toed" ungulate) mammal in the chalicothere family. They were endemic to North America during the Miocene from ~20.4—13.6 Mya, existing for approximately . ...

'' ("slow foot") *pro-, protero-: ''pronunciation:'' /proʊ̯/, /proʊ̯tεroʊ̯/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek πρό, πρότερος (''pró, próteros''). Meaning: before. Usually used for ancestral forms. *:Examples:''

Proterosuchus ''Proterosuchus'' is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptiles that lived during the Early Triassic. It contains three valid species: the type species ''P. fergusi'' and the referred species ''P. alexanderi'' and ''P. goweri''. All three spec ...

'' ("before crocodile"); ''

Procompsognathus ''Procompsognathus'' is an extinct genus of coelophysid theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 210 million years ago during the later part of the Triassic Period, in what is now Germany. ''Procompsognathus'' was a small-sized, lightly buil ...

'' ("before elegant jaw"); ''

Prosaurolophus ''Prosaurolophus'' (; meaning "before ''Saurolophus''", in comparison to the later dinosaur with a similar head crest) is a genus of hadrosaurid (or duck-billed) dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America. It is known from the remains of ...

'' ("before lizard crest") *proto-: ''Pronunciation'': /proʊtoʊ/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek πρῶτος (''prōtos''). Meaning: first. Used for early appearances in the fossil record. *:Examples: ''

Protoceratops ''Protoceratops'' (; ) is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 75 to 71 million years ago. The genus ''Protoceratops'' includes two species: ''P. andrewsi'' and the larger ''P. hellenik ...

'' ("first horned face"); '' Protognathosaurus'' ("first jaw lizard"); '' Protohadros'' ("first

hadrosaur Hadrosaurids (), or duck-billed dinosaurs, are members of the ornithischian family Hadrosauridae. This group is known as the duck-billed dinosaurs for the flat duck-bill appearance of the bones in their snouts. The ornithopod family, which includ ...

") *psittaco-, -psitta: ''Pronunciation'': /sitɑːkoʊ/, /psitə/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek ψιττακός (''psittakós''). ''Meaning'': parrot. "Psittaco-" is used for parrot-like creatures, while the suffix "psitta" is used for parrots. *:Examples: ''

Psittacosaurus ''Psittacosaurus'' ( ; "parrot lizard") is a genus of extinct ceratopsian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of what is now Asia, existing between 126 and 101 million years ago. It is notable for being the most species-rich non-avian dinosaur ge ...

'' ("parrot lizard"); '' Cyclopsitta'' (" Cyclops parrot"); '' Xenopsitta'' ("strange parrot"). *pter-, ptero-, -pterus, pteryg-, -ptera, -pteryx. Pronunciation: /ter/, /teroʊ/, /pterəs/, /terɪg/, /pterɪx/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek πτέρυξ, πτέρυγος (''pterux, ptérugos''). ''Meaning:'' wing, of a wing, respectively. Used for many winged creatures, but also expanded to mean "fin", and used for many undersea

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

. The suffix "-ptera" is also used in orders of winged insects. *:Examples: ''

'' ("toothless wing"); ''

'' ("winged finger"); ''

Eurypterus ''Eurypterus'' ( ) is an extinct genus of eurypterid, a group of organisms commonly called "sea scorpions". The genus lived during the Silurian period, from around 432 to 418 million years ago. ''Eurypterus'' is by far the most well-studied and ...

'' ("wide wing" or fin); ''

Pterygotus ''Pterygotus'' is a genus of giant predatory eurypterid, a group of extinct aquatic arthropods. Fossils of ''Pterygotus'' have been discovered in deposits ranging in age from Middle Silurian to Late Devonian, and have been referred to several di ...

'' ("winged" or finned);

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describe ...

("sheathed wing"); ''

'' ("ancient wing"); '' Stenopterygius'' ("narrow finned") *-pus: see -pod, -podo-, -pus. *-raptor, raptor-: ''Pronunciation'': /ræptər/. ''Origin'': Latin raptor. ''Meaning'': "robber, thief". Frequently used for

dromaeosaurid Dromaeosauridae () is a family of feathered theropod dinosaurs. They were generally small to medium-sized feathered carnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. The name Dromaeosauridae means 'running lizards', from Greek ('), meani ...

s or similar animals. The term "raptor" by itself may also be used for a dromeosaurid, a ''

Velociraptor ''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the pa ...

'', or originally, a

bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators h ...

. *:Examples: ''

'' ("swift robber"); ''

Utahraptor ''Utahraptor'' (meaning " Utah's thief") is a genus of large dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in North America during the Early Cretaceous period. It was a heavy-built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore. It contains a single species, ''Uta ...

'' ("

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

robber"); ''

Raptorex ''Raptorex'' is a dubious genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur. Its fossil remains consist of a single juvenile specimen probably uncovered in Mongolia, or possibly northeastern China. The type species is ''R. kriegsteini'', described in 2009 by Se ...

'' ("thief king") *-rex: Pronunciation: /rεks/. ''Origin'': Latin rex. ''Meaning'': king. Often used for large or impressive animals. *:Examples: ''

'' ("thief king"); ''

Dracorex ''Pachycephalosaurus'' (; meaning "thick-headed lizard", from Greek ''pachys-/'' "thick", ''kephale/'' "head" and ''sauros/'' "lizard") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. The type species, ''P. wyomingensis'', is the only known species, ...

'' ("dragon king"); ''

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

'' ("tyrant lizard king") * -rhina, rhino-, -rhinus: ''Pronunciation'': /raɪnə/ /raɪnoʊ̯/, /raɪnəs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek ῥίς (''rhís''). ''Meaning'': nose. *:Examples: ''

Altirhinus ''Altirhinus'' (; "high snout") is a genus of hadrosauroid ornithopod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of Mongolia. History of discovery All known specimens of ''Altirhinus'' were recovered in 1981 during collaborative expeditions organ ...

'' ("high nose"); ''

Pachyrhinosaurus ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' (meaning in Greek "thick-nosed lizard", from ' (), thick; ' (), nose; and (), lizard) is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of North America. The first examples were discove ...

'' ("thick-nosed lizard"); ''

Lycorhinus ''Lycorhinus'' is a genus of heterodontosaurid ornithischian dinosaur from the Early Jurassic (Hettangian to Sinemurian ages) strata of the Elliot Formation located in the Cape Province, South Africa. Description ''Lycorhinus'', including the ...

'' ("wolf nose"); ''

Arrhinoceratops ''Arrhinoceratops'' (meaning "no nose-horn face", derived from the Ancient Greek "a-/α-" "no", rhis/ῥίς "nose" "keras/κέρας" "horn", "-ops/ὤψ" "face") is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur. The name was coined as its origina ...

'' ("noseless horned face"); ''

Cretoxyrhina ''Cretoxyrhina'' (; meaning 'Cretaceous sharp-nose') is an extinct genus of large mackerel shark that lived about 107 to 73 million years ago during the late Albian to late Campanian of the Late Cretaceous. The type species, ''C. mantelli'', is ...

'' ("Cretaceous sharp nose");

("nose horn") * rhodo-: ''Pronunciation'': /roʊdoʊ/, /rodoʊ/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek ῥόδον (''rhódon''). ''Meaning'': "rose". Used for red-colored or otherwise rose-like organisms. *:Examples: ''

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nat ...

'' ("rose tree"); ''

Rhodophyta Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta also comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 currently recognized species with taxonomic revisions ongoing. The majority ...

'' ("rose plant"); ''

Rhodomonas ''Rhodomonas'' is a genus of cryptomonads. It is characterized by its red colour, the square-shaped plates of its inner periplast, its short furrow ending in a gullet, and a distinctly shaped chloroplast A chloroplast () is a type of membra ...

'' ("rose unit") *rhynco-, -rhynchus: ''Pronunciation'': /rɪnkoʊ/, /rɪnkəs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek ῥύγχος (''rhúgkhos''). ''Meaning'': "beak", "snout". *:Examples: ''

Rhamphorhynchus ''Rhamphorhynchus'' (, from Ancient Greek ''rhamphos'' meaning "beak" and ''rhynchus'' meaning "snout") is a genus of long-tailed pterosaurs in the Jurassic period. Less specialized than contemporary, short-tailed pterodactyloid pterosaurs such ...

'' ("prow beak"); ''

Aspidorhynchus ''Aspidorhynchus'' (from el, ᾰ̓σπίς 'shield' and el, ῥύγχος 'snout') is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Fossils have been found in Europe and Antarctica. ''Aspidorhynchus'' was ...

'' ( "shield snout"); ''

Ornithorhynchus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypi ...

'' ("bird beak"); ''

rhynchosaur Rhynchosaurs are a group of extinct herbivorous Triassic archosauromorph reptiles, belonging to the order Rhynchosauria. Members of the group are distinguished by their triangular skulls and elongated, beak like premaxillary bones. Rhynchosaurs ...

'' ("beaked lizard") *sarco-: Pronunciation: /sɑːrkʊ/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek σάρξ (''sárx''). ''Meaning'': flesh. Used for flesh-eating animals or animals and plants with fleshy parts *:Examples: '' Sarcophilus'' ("flesh-loving");

Sarcopterygii Sarcopterygii (; ) — sometimes considered synonymous with Crossopterygii () — is a taxon (traditionally a class or subclass) of the bony fishes known as the lobe-finned fishes. The group Tetrapoda, a mostly terrestrial superclass includi ...

("fleshy fin"); ''

Sarcosuchus ''Sarcosuchus'' (; ) is an extinct genus of crocodyliform and distant relative of living crocodilians that lived during the Early Cretaceous, from the late Hauterivian to the early Albian, 133 to 112 million years ago of what is now Africa an ...

'' ("flesh crocodile") *saur, sauro-, -saurus: Pronunciation: /sɔər/, /sɔəroʊ/, /sɔərəs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek ('). ''Meaning'': lizard. Used for dinosaurs and other extinct reptiles. *:Examples:

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is ...

("terrible lizard")

Mosasaur Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Greek ' meaning 'lizard') comprise a group of extinct, large marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous. Their first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the ...

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...

lizard"), ''

Tyrannosaurus ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

'' ("tyrant lizard"), ''

Allosaurus ''Allosaurus'' () is a genus of large carnosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic epoch (Kimmeridgian to late Tithonian). The name "''Allosaurus''" means "different lizard" alluding to ...

'' ("different lizard"), ''

Sauroposeidon ''Sauroposeidon'' ( ; meaning "lizard earthquake god", after the Greek god Poseidon) is a genus of sauropod dinosaur known from several incomplete specimens including a bone bed and fossilized trackways that have been found in the U.S. states of ...

'' ("

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a c ...

lizard") *sino-: ''Pronunciation''; /saɪnoʊ̯/. ''Origin'': la, Sina. ''Meaning'': from China. Used for ancient and other civilizations. *:Examples: ''

Sinornithosaurus ''Sinornithosaurus'' (derived from a combination of Latin and Greek, meaning 'Chinese bird-lizard') is a genus of feathered dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the early Cretaceous Period (late Barremian) of the Yixian Formation in what is now China. I ...

''; ("Chinese bird-lizard"); ''

Sinosauropteryx ''Sinosauropteryx'' (meaning "Chinese reptilian wing", ) is a compsognathid dinosaur. Described in 1996, it was the first dinosaur taxon outside of Avialae (birds and their immediate relatives) to be found with evidence of feathers. It was cover ...

'' ("Chinese lizard wing"); ''

Sinoceratops ''Sinoceratops'' is an extinct genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that lived approximately 73 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now Shandong province in China. It was named in 2010 by Xu Xing ''et al.'' fo ...

'' ("Chinese horned face") *smilo-, -smilus: ''Pronunciation'': /smaɪloʊ/, /smaɪləs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek σμίλη ('). ''Meaning'': a carving knife or chisel. Used for animals with sabre teeth. *:Examples: ''

Smilodon ''Smilodon'' is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the most famous prehistoric mammals and the best known saber-toothed cat. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely relat ...

'' ("knife tooth"); '' Smilosuchus'' ("knife crocodile"); ''

Thylacosmilus ''Thylacosmilus'' is an extinct genus of saber-toothed metatherian mammals that inhabited South America from the Late Miocene to Pliocene epochs. Though ''Thylacosmilus'' looks similar to the " saber-toothed cats", it was not a felid, like ...

'' ("pouched knife"); ''

Xenosmilus ''Xenosmilus hodsonae'' (from Greek, , ''xenos'', "strange" + , ''smilē'', "chisel" ) is an extinct species of the Machairodontinae, or saber-toothed cats. Description The species name ''hodsonae'' originates from Debra Hodson, the wife of a ...

'' ("strange knife") *-spondylus: Pronunciation: /spɒndələs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek σπόνδυλος ('). ''Meaning'': vertebra. *:Examples: ''

'' ("backwards vertebra"); ''

Massospondylus ''Massospondylus'' ( ; from Greek, (massōn, "longer") and (spondylos, "vertebra")) is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic. (Hettangian to Pliensbachian ages, ca. 200–183 million years ago). It was described by S ...

'' ("longer vertebra"); ''

Bothriospondylus ''Bothriospondylus'' ("excavated vertebra") is a dubious genus of neosauropod sauropod dinosaur. It lived during the Late Jurassic. Discovery and naming The type species, ''Bothriospondylus suffossus'', was described by Richard Owen in 1875. T ...

'' ("excavated vertebra") *squali-, squalo-: Pronunciation: /skweɪlɪ/, /skweɪloʊ/ . ''Origin'': Latin squalus. ''Meaning'': a kind of sea fish. Used for shark like creatures. *:Examples: ''

Squalodon ''Squalodon'' is an extinct genus of whales of the Oligocene and Miocene epochs, belonging to the family Squalodontidae. Named by Jean-Pierre Sylvestre de Grateloup in 1840, it was originally believed to be an iguanodontid dinosaur but has sin ...

'' ("shark tooth") ''

'' ("shark form"); ''

Squalicorax ''Squalicorax'', commonly known as the crow shark, is a genus of extinct lamniform shark known to have lived during the Cretaceous period. The genus had a global distribution in the Late Cretaceous epoch. Multiple species within this genus are c ...

'' ("shark raven") '' Squalomorphii'' ("shark shape") *stego-, -stega: ''Pronunciation'': /stɛgoʊ/, /stɛgə/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek στέγη ('). ''Meaning'': roof. Used for armoured or plated animals. *:Examples: ''

Stegosaurus ''Stegosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of herbivorous, four-legged, armored dinosaur from the Late Jurassic, characterized by the distinctive kite-shaped upright plates along their backs and spikes on their tails. Fossils of the genus have been foun ...

'' ("roofed lizard"); ''

'' ("roofed fish"); ''

'' ("spine roof") *strepto-: ''Pronunciation'': /streptoʊ/, /strepto/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek στρεπτός ('). ''Meaning'': twisted, bent. *:Examples:

Streptophyta Streptophyta (), informally the streptophytes (, from the Greek ''strepto'' 'twisted', for the morphology of the sperm of some members), is a clade of plants. The composition of the clade varies considerably between authors, but the definition e ...

("bent plant"); ''

Streptococcus ''Streptococcus'' is a genus of gram-positive ' (plural ) or spherical bacteria that belongs to the family Streptococcaceae, within the order Lactobacillales (lactic acid bacteria), in the phylum Bacillota. Cell division in streptococci occur ...

'' ("twisted granule"); ''

'' ("twisted vertebra") *-stoma, -stome, -stomus: ''Pronunciation'': /stoʊma/, /stoʊm/, /stoʊməs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek στόμα (''stóma''). ''Meaning'': mouth. *:Examples:

deuterostome Deuterostomia (; in Greek) are animals typically characterized by their anus forming before their mouth during embryonic development. The group's sister clade is Protostomia, animals whose digestive tract development is more varied. Some exampl ...

(second mouth); ''

'' ("jaw mouth") ''

Anastomus The openbill storks or openbills are two species of stork (family '' Ciconiidae'') in the genus ''Anastomus''. They are large wading birds characterized by large bills, the mandibles of which do not meet except at the tip. This feature develops ...

'' ("on mouth") *sucho-, -suchus: ''Pronunciation'': /sjuːkoʊ/, /sjuːkəs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek σοῦχος (''soûkhos''). ''Meaning:'': Originally the Ancient Greek name for the Ancient Egyptian crocodile-headed god,

Sobek Sobek (also called Sebek or Sobki, cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲕ, Souk) was an ancient Egyptian deity with a complex and elastic history and nature. He is associated with the Nile crocodile or the West African crocodile and is represented either in its f ...

. Used to denote

crocodilians Crocodilia (or Crocodylia, both ) is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic reptiles, known as crocodilians. They first appeared 95 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period (Cenomanian stage) and are the closest living r ...

or crocodile-like animals. *:Examples: ''

'' ("terrible crocodile") ''

Anatosuchus ''Anatosuchus'' ("duck crocodile", the name from the Latin ''anas'' ("duck") and the Greek ''souchos'' ("crocodile"), for the broad, duck-like snout) is an extinct genus of notosuchian crocodylomorph discovered in Gadoufaoua, Niger, and described ...

'' ("duck crocodile"), ''

Suchomimus ''Suchomimus'' (meaning "crocodile mimic") is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived between 125 and 112 million years ago in what is now Niger, during the Aptian to early Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous period. It was named an ...

'' ("crocodile mimic") *tauro-: /taərəs/. Origin: la, taurus. ''Meaning'': bull. *:Examples: ''

Taurotragus ''Taurotragus'' is a genus of large antelopes of the African savanna, commonly known as elands. It contains two species: the common eland ''T. oryx'' and the giant eland ''T. derbianus''. Taxonomy ''Taurotragus'' is a genus of large African ...

'' ("male goat-bull"); ''

Taurovenator ''Taurovenator'' is a medium-sized carcharodontosaurid theropod from the late Cretaceous of Argentina. Discovered by Matias Motta in 2005 and formally described in 2016, it is represented by an isolated right postorbital. Etymology The ''taur ...

'' ("bull hunter"); ''

Carnotaurus ''Carnotaurus'' (; ) is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period, probably sometime between 71 and 69 million years ago. The only species is ''Carnotaurus sastrei''. Known from a single well- ...

'' ("flesh bull") *-teuthis: ''Pronunciation'': /tjuːθɪs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek τευθίς (''teuthís''). ''Meaning:'' squid. Used for

squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...

s and similar

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, a ...

s. *:Examples: '' Gonioteuthis'' ("narrow squid") '' Architeuthis'' ("ruling squid") '' Vampyroteuthis'' ("vampire squid"); '' Cylindroteuthis'' ("cylindrical squid") *thero-, -therium. ''Pronunciation'': /θɛroʊ/, /θiːrɪəm/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek θήρ (''thḗr''). ''Meaning'': beast. Used for supposedly monstrous animals. The suffix "-therium" is often used to denote extinct

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s. *:Examples:

theropod Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ca ...

("beast foot"), ''

Deinotherium ''Deinotherium'' was a large elephant-like proboscidean that appeared in the Middle Miocene and survived until the Early Pleistocene. Although superficially resembling modern elephants, they had notably more flexible necks, limbs adapted to a ...

'' ("terrible beast") ''

Megatherium ''Megatherium'' ( ; from Greek () 'great' + () 'beast') is an extinct genus of ground sloths endemic to South America that lived from the Early Pliocene through the end of the Pleistocene. It is best known for the elephant-sized type species ...

'' ("big beast") ''

'' ("thunder beast"); ''

Uintatherium ''Uintatherium'' ("Beast of the Uinta Mountains") is an extinct genus of herbivorous mammal that lived during the Eocene epoch. Two species are currently recognized: ''U. anceps'' from the United States during the Early to Middle Eocene (56–38 ...

'' ("beast of the Uinta mountains") *thylac-: ''Pronunciation'': /θaɪlæk/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek θύλακος (''thúlakos''). ''Meaning'': a sack. In the sense of "pouch", used for

marsupials Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...

. *:Examples:

Thylacine The thylacine ( , or , also ) (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The last known live animal was captured in 1930 in Tasman ...

("pouched one"); ''

Thylacoleo ''Thylacoleo'' ("pouch lion") is an extinct genus of carnivorous marsupials that lived in Australia from the late Pliocene to the late Pleistocene (2 million to 46 thousand years ago). Some of these marsupial lions were the largest mammalian pred ...

'' ("pouched lion"); ''

'' ("pouched knife") *tri-: ''Pronunciation'': /traɪ/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek τρία (''tría''). ''Meaning'': three. *:Examples: ''

'' ("three-horned face"); '' Triconodon'' ("three coned teeth");

trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the ...

("three lobes") *titano-, -titan: ''Pronunciation'': /taɪtænoʊ/, /taɪtən/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek Τιτάν, Τιτᾶνος (''Titán'', ''Titânos''). ''Meaning'': Titan, of the Titan, respectively. Used for large animals. *:Examples: ''

Titanosaurus ''Titanosaurus'' (; ) is a dubious genus of sauropod dinosaurs, first described by Richard Lydekker in 1877.R. Lydekker. (1877). Notices of new and other Vertebrata from Indian Tertiary and Secondary rocks. ''Records of the Geological Survey of I ...

'' ("Titan lizard"); ''

Giraffatitan ''Giraffatitan'' (name meaning "titanic giraffe") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the late Jurassic Period (Kimmeridgian–Tithonian stages) in what is now Lindi Region, Tanzania. It was originally named as an African species ...

'' ("giraffe Titan"); '' Anatotitan'' ("duck Titan"); ''

Titanotherium ''Megacerops'' ("large-horned face", from '' méga-'' "large" + '' kéras'' "horn" + '' ōps'' "face") is an extinct genus of the prehistoric odd-toed ungulate (hoofed mammal) family Brontotheriidae, an extinct group of rhinoceros-like browsers ...

'' ("Titan beast"); '' Titanoboa'' ("Titanic boa") *tyranno-, -tyrannus: ''Pronunciation'': /taɪrænoʊ/, /taɪrænəs/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek τύραννος (''túrannos''). ''Meaning'': tyrant. Used for animals similar to ''

''. *:Examples: ''

Zhuchengtyrannus ''Zhuchengtyrannus'' (meaning "Zhucheng tyrant") is a genus of Tyrannosauridae, tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur known from the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous of Shandong Province, China. It belongs to the subfamily Tyrannosaurinae, and co ...

'' ("Zhucheng tyrant"); ''

'' ("tyrant lizard"); ''

Nanotyrannus ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

'' ("dwarf tyrant"); ''

Tyrannotitan ''Tyrannotitan'' (; ) is a genus of huge bipedal carnivorous dinosaur of the carcharodontosaurid family from the Aptian stage of the early Cretaceous period, discovered in Argentina. It is closely related to other giant predators like ''Carchar ...

'' ("Titanic tyrant"); '' Sinotyrannus'' ("Chinese tyrant"); ''

Suskityrannus ''Suskityrannus'' (meaning "coyote tyrant", ''suski'' meaning "coyote" in Zuni) is a genus of small tyrannosauroid theropod from the Late Cretaceous in southern Laramidia. It contains a single species, ''Suskityrannus hazelae,'' believed to h ...

'' ("coyote tyrant") *-urus, -uro-: ''Pronunciation'': /uːrəs/, /uːroʊ/. ''Origin'': grc, οὐρά (''ourá''). ''Meaning'': tail. *:Examples: ''

Dasyurus Quolls (; genus ''Dasyurus'') are carnivorous marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea. They are primarily nocturnal and spend most of the day in a den. Of the six species of quoll, four are found in Australia and two in New Guinea. An ...

'' ("hairy tail"); Coelurosauria ("hollow tail lizards"); ''

Uromastyx ''Uromastyx'' is a genus of African and Asian agamid lizards, the member species of which are commonly called spiny-tailed lizards, uromastyces, mastigures, or dabb lizards. Lizards in the genus ''Uromastyx'' are primarily herbivorous, but occas ...

'' ("tail scourge") *veloci-: ''Pronunciation'': /vəlɑsɪ/. ''Origin'': Latin ''velox''. ''Meaning'': speed. *:Example: ''

'' ("quick thief"); ''

Velocisaurus ''Velocisaurus'' ("swift lizard") is a genus of noasaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of Argentina. Description ''Velocisaurus'' was probably around long, based on a tibia length of . This makes it the smallest noasau ...

'' ("swift lizard") *-venator: ''Pronunciation'': /vɛnətər/. ''Origin'': Latin ''venator''. ''Meaning'': hunter. *:Examples: ''

Afrovenator ''Afrovenator'' (; "African hunter") is a genus of megalosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Period of northern Africa. Discovery and naming The remains of ''Afrovenator'' were discovered in 1993 in the Tiourarén Formation ...

'' ("African hunter"); ''

Juravenator ''Juravenator'' is a genus of small (75 cm long) coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur (although a 2020 study proposed it to be a hatchling megalosauroid), which lived in the area which would someday become the top of the Franconian Jura of Ger ...

'' (" Jura hunter"); '' Scorpiovenator'' ("scorpion hunter"); ''

Neovenator ''Neovenator'' (nee-o-ven-a-tor meaning "new hunter") is a genus of carcharodontosaurian theropod dinosaur. It is known from several skeletons found in the Early Cretaceous (Barremian~130-125 million years ago) Wessex Formation on the south coa ...

'' ("new hunter"); ''

Concavenator ''Concavenator'' is an extinct genus of theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 130 million years ago during the early Cretaceous period (Barremian age). The type species is ''C. corcovatus''; ''Concavenator corcovatus'' means " Cuenca hunter ...

'' (" Cuenca hunter") *xeno-: ''Pronunciation'': /zinoʊ/. Origin: Ancient Greek ξένος (''xénos''). ''Meaning'': strange, stranger. Used for organisms that exhibit unusual traits for their class. *:Examples: ''

'' ("strange knife"); ''

Xenotarsosaurus ''Xenotarsosaurus'' is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous of Argentina. Discovery In 1980 geologist Juan Carlos Sciutto discovered a rich fossil site six kilometres north of the Ocho Hermanos ranch in ...

'' ("strange ankled lizard"); '' Xenopsitta'' ("strange parrot"); ''

Xenocyon ''Xenocyon'' ("strange dog") is an extinct subgenus of ''Canis''. The group includes ''Canis'' (''Xenocyon'') ''africanus'', ''Canis'' (''Xenocyon'') ''antonii'' and ''Canis'' (''Xenocyon'') ''falconeri'' that gave rise to ''Canis'' (''Xenocyon'' ...

'' ("strange dog"); '' Xenokeryx'' ("strange horn"); '' Xenostega'' ("strange roof"); ''

Xenohyla ''Xenohyla'' is a genus of tree frogs in the family Hylidae that is endemic to xeric habitats of coastal Brazil, with '' Xenohyla eugenioi'' native to the State of Bahia and the State of Sergipe, and ''Xenohyla truncata'' native to the State o ...

'' ("strange hynadae"); ''

Xenozancla ''Xenozancla'' is a monotypic moth genus in the family Geometridae. Its only species, ''Xenozancla versicolor'', is found in northern India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh ...

'' ("strange animal"); '' Xenodermus'' ("strange skin") *-zoon, -zoa: ''Pronunciation'': /zoʊɑːn/, /zoʊə/. ''Origin'': Ancient Greek ζῷον (''zōion''). ''Meaning'': animal. Used for broad categories of animals, or in certain names of animals. *:Examples:

Metazoa Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage i ...

("encompassing animals");

Parazoa Parazoa (Parazoa, gr. Παρα-, para, "next to", and ζωα, zoa, "animal") are a taxon with sub-kingdom category that is located at the base of the phylogenetic tree of the animal kingdom in opposition to the sub-kingdom Eumetazoa; they group ...

("near animals");

Ecdysozoa Ecdysozoa () is a group of protostome animals, including Arthropoda (insects, chelicerata, crustaceans, and myriapods), Nematoda, and several smaller phyla. They were first defined by Aguinaldo ''et al.'' in 1997, based mainly on phylogenetic tr ...

("moulting animals"); ''

Yunnanozoon ''Yunnanozoon lividum'' (Yunnan + Greek ζῷον ''zôion'', ''lividum''; "livid animal of Yunnan") is an extinct species of possible vertebrate or chordate from the Lower Cambrian, Chengjiang biota of Yunnan province, China. It is thought of a ...

'' ("animal from

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

"); ''

Yuyuanozoon ''Yuyuanozoon magnificissimi'' is the largest known vetulicolian, with the holotype (and only known specimen) measuring about 202 millimeters in length. In life, it would have been an egg-shaped animal with a long cylindrical tail. The body is di ...

'' ("animal from Yu Yuan")

See also