ix'es and Bucculatricidae..

[Richard L. Brown]

Some examples from Lepidoptera: Tortricidae from Tortrix, Bombycidae from
Bombyx, Sphingidae from Sphinx.....the problem is determining if the stem
is of Latin or Greek origin, plus the fact that Latin declensions are not
simple.  In addition to Latin, there's latinized Greek words, Greek words
transliterated into Latin, neo-Latin words, modern non-classical words or
arbitrary combinations of letters.  Once the stem of the generic name has
been determined by scholars such as John Bradley, then the -cidae or -gidae
can be substituted for the "x".

>>The answer probably depends on whose taxonomic list you use, but in John
>>Bradley's latest UK list the genus Bucculatrix is placed in its own family
>>Bucculatricidae whilst Lyonetiidae is also still kept as a family.
>
>Hmm. According to the Zoological Record, it's "Bucculatrigidae". Based on
>other latin names ending in -trix turned into family names (e.g.,
>Tetrigidae), I tend to think that Bradley may have botched on his latin
>conjugation.

Richard L. Brown
Mississippi Entomological Museum
Box 9775
Mississippi State, MS 39762
phone: (662) 325-2085
fax: (662) 325-8837
e-mail: moth at ra.msstate.edu