Advice on using religious word in new species naming

not an issue

I can't see any problem. Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and lots of biblical names are fine things to name people today. Jesus is common in South America. It isn't a religious endorsement to name an insect Zeus or Krishna or Jesus.

… Rick Buss, 14 April, 2013 - 8:07am

agreed

I agree. The only recommendation in the Code (beyond the usual rules about proper grammatical formation, etc.) is that names should not be "offensive". But that's a pretty broad and context-dependent term. There are some pretty ridiculous names in the literature, and some that would be deemed offensive by some people, so something related to Cerro Jesus should certainly not be a problem. There are multiple species with the species name sanctipauli and the like, so there's even a Christian precedent.

If you're going to consider the name a patronym for "Jesus", the correct ending would be "i" (masculine), not "ae" (feminine). But there are, of course, other formulations, not patronyms, that would incorporate Cerro as well.

As for the common name, there would be nothing at all wrong with Cerro Jesus tree cricket. It's simply the name of the type locality, not a religious endorsement. Again, for a well-known precedent, there's the Saint Helena Earwig, named after an island, not a saint.

… Terry Wheeler, 14 April, 2013 - 11:48am

Thanks Rick & Terry,

I appreciate your comments. I'm liking Neoxabea cerrojesusi. (I forgot that the one needing name help is actually in the genus Neoxabea) It's being named for the mountain itself (cerro in Spanish). I did not know the rules for masculine vs feminine - so thank you for that new info. Cerro is a masculine word in Spanish -- is it also masculine in Latin?

… Wisconsin Oecanthinancy, 14 April, 2013 - 11:54am

Since it's a locality

shouldn't it be N. cerrojesusensis?

… Michael C. Thomas, 15 April, 2013 - 10:48am

another option

N. cerrojesus could be used and treated as a noun in apposition.

… Terry Wheeler, 15 April, 2013 - 11:09am

That would be

the easiest option. Covers a multitude of sins.

… Michael C. Thomas, 15 April, 2013 - 12:13pm

Nice pun.

I think I prefer N. cerrojesusensis,but I'll check with the co-describer. Are N. cerrojesus and N. cerrojesusensis equally good choices?

… Wisconsin Oecanthinancy, 15 April, 2013 - 5:21pm

As long as

you call the former a noun in apposition, yes.

… Michael C. Thomas, 16 April, 2013 - 8:03am