Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Badumna longiqua or Badumna longinqua? (spider category)

I've only just noticed this possible spelling error. The World Spider Catalog lists this species as Badumna longinqua, while we have it listed as Badumna longiqua. I have always used B. longiqua and was surprised to find out it may be wrong! What do you guys think about this? Does it warrant a correction?

Origin of the misspelling?
Ubick (1) consistently leaves out the "n".

 
longinqua
Thanks Charley =].

Nice work, Chuck & Mandy...
...on fixing this issue! As it has been so frequently misspelled in the past on BugGuide, I added a comment to the Remarks section of the Info page. Hopefully, this will provide clarification should anyone still be confused or attempt to search on the misspelled version of the name.

 
Good thinking!
That will quell any suspicions of misspelling. Thanks, Harsi!

Thanks!
I corrected it on our web site

Definitely longinqua
L. Koch uses that spelling in his original 1867 description.

It's a perfectly good Latin word meaning "distant, remote, living far-off, foreign". Given that the type specimen was from Brisbane (curiously, spelled "Brinsbane" by Koch) and Koch was in Nuremberg, the name makes perfect sense.

 
Thanks, Chuck!
Now all I can think about is how and when I get to use "das abdomen" next in an ID, haha. I have no knowledge of that language but it's fun to read nevertheless!

In seriousness, though, thank you for checking into this. It's so strange... I wonder how it ever was misspelled in so many places (& by Jeff, no less). I think it's because longiqua rolls off the tongue better(?) I will go attempt to change it now... And will also contact Peter as well.

 
Understandable
The word has two syllables that are very similar in structure but with a difference in both the vowel and one of the consonants(ng and nq are very similar, which makes it harder to keep straight)- that's the kind of thing used to make tongue-twisters (as in "the sheik's sixth sheep's sick"). Rather than deal with that complexity, the brain tends to simplify things by ignoring one of the sounds. It doesn't help that "nqu" is a fairly rare letter combination.

 
A perfect explanation
Makes perfect sense!