biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

, a tribe is a

taxonomic rank In biological classification, taxonomic rank is the relative level of a group of organisms (a taxon) in an ancestral or hereditary hierarchy. A common system consists of species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, domain. Whi ...

above

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial no ...

, but below

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

and

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes. By convention, all taxonomic ranks from genus upwards are capitalized, including both tribe and subtribe. In

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

, the standard ending for the name of a zoological tribe is "-ini". Examples include the tribes

Caprini The subfamily Caprinae, also sometimes referred to as the tribe Caprini, is part of the ruminant family Bovidae, and consists of mostly medium-sized bovids. A member of this subfamily is called a caprine, or, more informally, a goat-antelope (a ...

(goat-antelopes),

Hominini The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas). The t ...

(hominins), Bombini (bumblebees), and

Thunnini A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max leng ...

(tunas). The tribe Hominini is divided into subtribes by some scientists; subtribe

Hominina Australopithecina or Hominina is a subtribe in the tribe Hominini. The members of the subtribe are generally ''Australopithecus'' (cladistically including the genera '' Homo'', '' Paranthropus'', and '' Kenyanthropus''), and it typically inclu ...

then comprises "humans". The standard ending for the name of a zoological subtribe is "-ina". In

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

, the standard ending for the name of a botanical tribe is "-eae". Examples include the tribes

Acalypheae The Acalypheae is a tribe of the subfamily Acalyphoideae, under the family Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of ...

and Hyacintheae. The tribe Hyacintheae is divided into subtribes, including the subtribe Massoniinae. The standard ending for the name of a botanical subtribe is "-inae". In

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classific ...

, the form of tribe names is as in botany, e.g., Pseudomonadeae, based on the genus name '' Pseudomonas''.

Rank recognition

An unfamiliar taxonomic rank cannot necessarily be identified as a tribe merely by the presence of one of the standard suffixes: * zoological ''-ini'' uniquely suffixes the animal tribe, Article 29 * zoological ''-ina'' uniquely suffixes the animal subtribe * zoological ''-inae'' uniquely suffixes the animal subfamily * botanical ''-eae'' also suffixes class ''-phyceae'', suborder ''-ineae'', family ''-aceae'', and subfamily ''-oideae'' (these additional ''-eae'' ranks are present in bacteria, plants, algae, and fungi, but not animals) Article 16 Article 19 Accordingly, working within animals alone, subfamily ''-inae'', tribe -ini, and subtribe ''-ina'' are unique suffixes to their specific taxonomic ranks. At the other extreme, working within algae alone, ''-eae'' suffixes class ''-phyceae'', suborder ''-ineae'', family ''-aceae'', subfamily ''-oideae'', and tribe ''-eae''. The longer suffixes themselves suffixed with ''-eae'' must first be eliminated before recognizing an unfamiliar ''-eae'' designation as belonging to rank tribe.

Notes

References

{{Taxonomic ranks Bacterial nomenclature

Tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conf ...

Plant taxonomy rank16

Rank recognition

See also

Notes

References