Timema: Spelling emendation for endings of 5 specific epithets

A few days ago I noticed that the epithets of five Timema species had their spelling changed since I'd last perused the Timema pages of Wikipedia and the Phasmida Species File web site. Specifically, the spelling of the epithets as given in their original descriptions (on left below), were modified as shown:

landelsensis → landelsense
monikensis → monikense
morongensis → morongense
poppensis → poppense
ritensis → ritense

Near the bottom of the Phasmida Species Files Timema page was the following note:

"Scrutiny: Yanega, 2018, Timema is expressly neuter in gender, some changings to endings of species — hence -ensis automatically becomes -ense"
Not being especially well-versed in Greek and Latin grammar, nor the associated nomenclatural rules & technicalities, I sought to learn more by consulting various references (in books and online). Here's a summary of my current understanding...please comment/correct if you find I'm in error!:

1) The Latin suffixes -ensis and -ense are genitive case endings denoting "of..." or "from...". For example, the epithet ritensis indicates "from the Santa Rita Mountains" of Arizona. The standardized Latin gender endings here are: -is = masculine & feminine; and -e = neuter.
2) In a paper on the taxonomy of Phasmatodea, Bradley & Galil (1977) state (at the top of pg. 196 here):
"The name 'To timema-atos' is neuter, and the stem on which the family name must he formed is Timemat-."
I could not find a translation of what "To timema-atos" actually means...though I'd very much like to know! Nor am I clear on the context/implications of the ending "-atos" appended to "timema" in the quote above. But I suppose this to be in accord with Doug Yanega's assertion of neuter gender for the genus name (e.g. as inherited from the family name?).
3) Thus, per the International Code of Zoolological Nomenclature (cf. Article 31.2 and Article 19.2) it appears the spellings using -ense above are indeed the appropriate emendations for use on BugGuide and elsewhere.
Since such a spelling change may cause confusion (and perhaps controversy?)...I wanted to post this forum article to provide a resource for sharing info and discussing the issue. Any confusion relating to the original vs. emended spellings — e.g. caused by different usages in earlier uneditable BugGuide comments, published papers, or elsewhere — can refer here for clarification.

Again, please comment & correct under this forum article if you see fit...else I'll assume it appropriate (in the coming days) to change the name endings on the BugGuide nodes corresponding to the epithets listed above. Thanks!

Contributed by Aaron Schusteff on 15 April, 2018 - 4:06pm
Last updated 14 July, 2018 - 6:07pm

ICZN Article 30.2.3

In this case, there is no solid evidence that there is any Greek or Latin word "timema", and a little equivocal evidence (i.e., "timima") that would support it being neuter. The important Code Article is 30.2.3, therefore: "30.2.3. If no gender was specified, the name takes the gender indicated by its combination with one or more adjectival species-group names of the originally included nominal species [Art. 67.2.]." In this case, the only originally-included species was "californicum", making the genus neuter. If Scudder had named it "californica" it would have been feminine. It's embarrassing that so many later authors ignored the Code.

… Doug Yanega, 25 April, 2018 - 6:32pm

Many thanks for the precise clarification, Doug!

I totally missed the connection to ICZN Article 30.2.3 and the corresponding relevance of the neuter -um ending of Scudder's single originally-described species californicum. As you say, I suppose that alone suffices to warrant emendation of the name-endings here.

Regarding etymology (as opposed to entomology ;-): note that Scudder, in naming his "genus nova", did explicitly (if parenthetically) refer to the word τίμημα (written exactly like that, in the Greek alphabet...see the 2nd paragraph from the bottom here). And his transliteration into the Latin alphabet was timema (rather than "timima").

The "Wiktionary" entry for τιμημα, pointed to in J & J's comment below, is suggestive evidence (at least up to "web-squishy standards" ;-) for the existence of such a word in Greek...and the indication of neuter gender in that "Wiktionary" entry is consistent with Scudder's use of the neuter ending for the epithet califoricum.

In addition, the statement in Bradley & Galil (1977) that "'To timema-atos' is neuter" is also consistent with the other evidence for neuter gender of the genus name here (though I don't know or understand the basis for their statement).

As to the possible meaning of the genus name, as mentioned in my comment below, the second item in the "Wiktionary" entry here indicates Timema means "timid" in the Esparanto language...which seems apropos, since "timid" fits these little walking sticks quite well :-). I'm wondering if the scholar Scudder, who would have been 50 years old when Esparanto first hit the world stage in 1887, may have been aware of the connection when he coined the genus name in 1895? Or perhaps Scudder was thinking along similar lines of etymology to those which prompted the creator(s) of Esparanto to associate "timema" with "timid"?

… Aaron Schusteff, 25 April, 2018 - 9:11pm

Here is something

τιμημα. Don't know if it helps??
Don't know what price or value might have to do with an arthropod, but it is neuter if that is the reference.

… john and jane balaban, 15 April, 2018 - 8:20pm

Thanks for giving the genus etymology some thought!

Your letter-by-letter transliteration of "timema" into the Greek alphabet is the same as that appearing in Scudder's 1985 original description for the type species...but, like you, I see no clear connection to the meaning "monetary" or generalized "value". (Maybe the meaning for the genus name derives from Ancient rather than Modern Greek?). Your link does indicate the -atos ending is simply the Greek spelling for the genitive case ending. I didn't see any indication of neuter gender in the link, but I think that seems well-enough established now.

FYI, all I got with earlier attempts to ferret out the meaning were two unpromising hits for "to timema-atos": one with reference to a "census" in ancient Athens; and another that referred to a footnote in a book about Early Athens and Socrates...but I couldn't squeeze any relevant meaning out of it.

However your tack got me working on it a bit more, and I found an link indicating "timema" is Esparanto for "timid"! That seems like a good fit, as Timema do like to hide using crypsis, and shy away when you see them :-)

… Aaron Schusteff, 16 April, 2018 - 2:28am

The n after the word on the page we linked

indicates it is neuter. You can see some m and f and n in the notes below indicating masculine and feminine words. The definition in classical Greek is the same. Maybe he is saying that it was a valuable find. "Look at that weird thing - that's a money bug!" :)

… john and jane balaban, 16 April, 2018 - 9:34am

n for neuter

Got it! Previously I had misinterpreted that n after the definition as "n for noun"...hadn't noticed the f and m below for feminine and masculine. (Moreover, I just discovered that if one floats their mouse-cursor over the n on that web page, the cursor icon becomes a question mark, and a text box appears indicating "neuter gender"! :-) At any rate, it's good to have more confirmation for neuter gender of the genus name.

Regarding meaning, perhaps you're right...the link between word origins and word meanings often seems quite tenuous.

… Aaron Schusteff, 16 April, 2018 - 10:55am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version