030 



TAXONOMY. 



and Kapafiudrjs. Buttman gives the form aides as the most correct, 

 because etSos has in the ancient language the digamma ; but I have 

 chosen the contracted form, as it is shorter, and because it is more 

 frequent in Aristotle. 



360. 



Besides these adjective forms substantives have been used to distin- 

 guish families ; latterly, namely, Greek patronymics have been applied 

 to the construction of family names, but these also can only be formed 

 of true Greek words. If in the Latin poets forms such as Romulidce 

 exist, prose absolutely rejects them, and the language of naturalists is no 

 poetry, but a scientific and consequently pure prose. If, on the con- 

 trary, they be applied to Greek names, they must be declined according 

 to the first declension ; upon transition into Latin all are then true 

 masculines. 



Other substantives originate by the compounding of two words, 

 according to the above rules. Names like the following are false, 

 Melosoma, Taxicornes, Myrmeleonides ; they should be Melanosomata, 

 Taxocera (for cornu is Latin and rdgis Greek), Myrmecoleontoides. 



The substantive termination ites, which Latreille so frequently applies 

 to family names, is Greek, and therefore can be appended only to such 

 words as are of Greek origin. It is always of the masculine gender, 

 and distinguishes some relation, and therefore a resemblance with the 

 object represented by the root. It may therefore be unquestionably 

 used for the structure of substantive family names ; but names like 

 Curculionites, Crabronites, are erroneous, as Curculio and Crabro are 

 of Latin origin. 



361. 



The names of the higher groups of the tribes and orders are in 

 general formed of two words, generally substantives, compounded 

 according to the above rules. It is seldom requisite to form new names 

 for such groups, as those existing are sufficient, and, at least in insects, 

 the orders were determined very naturally even by Linnaeus. Although 

 our system proceeds from different views to the Linnauan, we have yet 

 retained the names of his orders, as they are everywhere known, and 

 everybody already connects an idea with them. The names of classes also 

 have been already correctly distinguished by early naturalists, and even 

 by the common man in his mother-tongue, so that we scarcely require 



