masc. genitive honorific epithets

[Curtis Clark]

At 03:12 PM 12/4/95 -0800, Timothy S. Ross wrote:
> Xantus' hummingbird was
>named in his honor, but interestingly (or at least I think so), the generic
>name was constructed as Xantusia, rather than Xantia.  I believe that
>either generic name would have been acceptable under the ICBN.

There was an article by Dan Nicolson in _Taxon_ some years back that dealt
with the mechanics of -i, -ii endings, based on Roman naming customs.  But
of course the rules in this respect are different for plants (such as
nightshades and hummingbirds) than for animals.  :-)

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