Real Words Without Definition
We're sure about this one.
The Latin name of a group of plants or animals.
The naming system runs on endings, which is why there are so many. -idae is an animal family, -aceae a plant family, -inae a subfamily, -ales an order. achetidae is the crickets, acraeinae is a group of butterflies, agalenidae is the funnel-weaver spiders.
They are capitalised in real use but arrive here in lower case like everything else.
2,849 words · sorted A to Z · each with a line on why it is here
Matches the word itself, not the note beside it. Case does not matter.
| Word, sorted Z to A | What it names |
|---|---|
| monopteridae | family of swamp eels |
| monopylaea | group of radiolarians with one pore-plate |
| monopylaria | suborder of monopylean radiolarians |
| monorhina | vertebrates with a single nostril (lampreys) |
| monostomata | group of trematodes with a single sucker |
| monostomatidae | family of monostome flukes |
| monostomidae | family of monostome trematodes |
| monostomum | genus of trematode flukes |
| monothalama | single-chambered foraminifera |
| monotocardia | order of gastropods with one auricle |
| monotrocha | rotifers with a single ciliary wreath |
| monozoa | tapeworms consisting of a single segment |
| morrhua | Morrhua, old genus of the codfish |
| mosasauri | Mosasauri, extinct marine lizards |
| motacillinae | subfamily of wagtails |
| mougeotiaceae | family of green algae (Mougeotia) |
| mugho | varietal epithet of Pinus mugo, the mugho pine |
| musales | order of monocots, the bananas |
| muscadinia | Muscadinia, grape genus/subgenus |
| musophagi | Musophagi, the plantain-eaters (turacos) |
| mutisiaceae | plant family based on Mutisia |
| myacea | Myacea, superfamily of bivalves |
| mycetophagidae | family of fungus beetles |
| mycomycetes | Mycomycetes, a group of fungi |
| mycosphaerellaceae | family of ascomycete fungi |
| myctodera | zoological group name (Gr. mykter, snout) |
| mydaidae | family of mydas flies |
| myelozoa | proposed group of spinal-corded animals |
| mylodei | group of extinct ground sloths (Mylodon) |
| myotalpa | genus of Asian mole-rats |
| myotalpinae | subfamily of mole-rats |
| myrianida | genus of syllid polychaete worms |
| myrientomata | order of primitive insects (Protura) |
| myriopoda | class of arthropods, var. of Myriapoda |
| myriotrichiaceae | family of brown algae |
| myristicivora | genus of nutmeg-eating fruit pigeons |
| myrmecobiinae | subfamily containing the numbat |
| myrmeleonidae | family of ant-lions |
| myrmicidae | family of ants |
| mystacoceti | suborder of baleen whales |
| mytilacea | superfamily of marine mussels |
| mytiliaspis | genus of scale insects (Mytilaspis) |
| myxinoidei | order of hagfishes |
| myxobacteriaceae | family of slime bacteria |
| myxobacteriales | order of slime bacteria |
| myxogastrales | order of slime moulds |
| myxogastres | group of true slime moulds |
| myxomycetales | order of slime moulds |
| myxophyta | division of slime moulds |
| myxopoda | group of rhizopod protozoans |
| myxospongiae | order of horny sponges |
| myxospongida | order of slimy sponges |
| myxosporidia | order of parasitic sporozoans |
| myxosporidiida | order of myxosporidian protozoans |
| myxosporium | genus of imperfect fungi |
| myzodendraceae | family of southern mistletoes |
| myzostomata | class of parasitic annelids |
| myzostomidae | family of parasitic annelid worms |
| naemorhedinae | subfamily of goat-antelopes, gorals |
| naiadaceae | family of water-nymph plants |
| naiadales | order of aquatic monocots |
| nanger | genus of African gazelles (dama gazelle) |
| narcaciontes | group of electric rays |
| narcaciontidae | family of electric rays |
| narcobatidae | family of electric rays |
| narcobatoidea | superfamily of electric rays |
| narcobatus | genus of electric rays |
| nasicornia | group of nose-horned animals, rhinoceroses |
| nautilacea | superfamily of nautiloid molluscs |
| nautiloidea | subclass of nautiloid cephalopods |
| neascus | collective genus of trematode metacercariae |
| nebaliidae | family of leptostracan crustaceans |
| necrophaga | group of carrion-feeding beetles |
| necrophorus | genus of burying beetles |
| necturidae | family of mudpuppies (Necturus) |
| neisserieae | bacterial tribe of the Neisseria group |
| nemalionaceae | family of red algae |
| nemalionales | order of red algae |
| nemastomaceae | family of red algae |
| nematelmia | group name for the roundworms |
| nematelminthes | phylum of roundworms |
| nemathelmia | group name for the roundworms |
| nemathelminthes | phylum Nemathelminthes, roundworms |
| nematognathi | order of catfishes |
| nematophyton | fossil plant genus Nematophyton |
| nematospora | genus of yeastlike fungi |
| nemertina | class of ribbon worms |
| nemocera | suborder of long-horned flies |
| neobalaena | genus of the pygmy right whale |
| neofabraea | genus of ascomycete fungi |
| neomeniidae | family of solenogaster molluscs |
| neomylodon | fossil genus of giant ground sloth |
| neopieris | genus name (Neo- + Pieris) |
| neosporidia | group of sporozoan parasites |
| neotremata | order of brachiopods |
| nephrodium | fern genus Nephrodium |
| nephropsidae | family of clawed lobsters |
| nesonetta | genus of the Auckland Island flightless duck |
| neuropteroidea | superorder of neuropteroid insects |
| neurorthoptera | former insect group Neurorthoptera |
The other lists filed alongside this one.
