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 |
|---|---|
| pelargi | Pelargi, the group of storks |
| pelargomorphae | Pelargomorphae, the stork-like birds |
| pelecanoidinae | subfamily of diving petrels, Pelecanoidinae |
| pellicularia | genus of fungi, Pellicularia |
| pelopaeus | Pelopaeus, genus of mud-dauber wasps |
| pentace | genus of SE Asian lime-family trees |
| pentacrinidae | family of stalked crinoids |
| pentacrinus | genus of stalked sea lilies |
| pentadactyla | group of five-digited vertebrates |
| pentameridae | family of fossil brachiopods |
| pentastomum | genus of tongue-worms |
| penthestes | former genus of chickadees |
| percesoces | order of fishes, mullets and barracudas |
| peridineae | group of dinoflagellates |
| peridinidae | family of dinoflagellates |
| peridinieae | group of dinoflagellates |
| peridiniidae | family of dinoflagellates |
| peripatidea | group of velvet worms (Peripatus kin) |
| perisporiales | order of ascomycete fungi |
| peristeromorphae | group of pigeon-like birds |
| peristeropodes | group of pigeon-footed birds, the megapodes |
| peritricha | group of ciliate protozoans |
| perlaria | old order of stoneflies |
| pernyi | epithet of Antheraea pernyi, oak silkmoth |
| peromedusae | group of stalked jellyfishes |
| peropus | genus of geckos |
| perularia | genus of orchids |
| petaliidae | family of dragonflies |
| petalostemon | genus of prairie clover |
| petauristidae | family of flying phalangers |
| petioliventres | division of stalk-bellied Hymenoptera |
| petromyzonidae | family of lampreys |
| petromyzontes | Latin group name for the lampreys |
| peucites | fossil genus of pines |
| pfeifferella | bacterial genus named after Pfeiffer |
| phacidiales | order of ascomycete fungi |
| phaeosporales | order of brown algae |
| phaeosporeae | group of brown-spored algae |
| phaethontes | Latin group name for the tropic-birds |
| phagineae | beech group of trees |
| phalaenidae | family of noctuid moths |
| phalangida | order of harvestmen |
| phalangidea | group of harvestmen |
| phalangides | Latin group name for harvestmen |
| phalangigrada | mammals walking on the phalanges |
| phalangistidae | family of phalangers |
| phalaropodidae | family of phalaropes |
| phanerocarpae | group of medusae with exposed gonads |
| phanerocephala | annelids with a distinct head |
| phanerogamia | division of flowering plants |
| phanerozonia | order of starfishes |
| pharbitis | genus of morning-glories |
| pharomacrus | genus of quetzals |
| pharyngobranchii | group name for the lancelets |
| pharyngognathi | group of fishes with fused pharyngeals |
| pharyngopneusta | group breathing through the pharynx |
| phascaceae | family of mosses |
| phascolarctinae | subfamily of koalas |
| phascolomyidae | family of wombats |
| phascolomys | genus of wombats |
| phascum | genus of mosses |
| phaseolaceae | bean family of plants |
| phasmatida | order of stick-insects |
| philanthidae | family of digger wasps |
| philetaerus | genus of African sociable weaver birds |
| philohela | former genus of the American woodcock |
| phocaenina | group of porpoises |
| phocodontia | extinct group of seal-toothed whales |
| phoenicaceae | the palm family, date palms |
| phoenicales | order of palms |
| phoenicopteroideae | suborder of flamingos |
| pholadacea | superfamily of boring bivalves, piddocks |
| pholadinea | group of piddock bivalves |
| phora | genus of scuttle flies, Phoridae |
| phoronidea | phylum of phoronid worms |
| phororhacidae | family of giant fossil terror birds |
| phractamphibia | group of armoured fossil amphibians |
| phragmocyttares | division of social wasps |
| phrynidae | family of tailless whip scorpions |
| phthirius | genus of the crab louse |
| phycitidae | family of snout moths |
| phycochromaceae | group of blue-green algae |
| phycochromophyceae | class of blue-green algae |
| phycodromidae | family of seaweed flies |
| phylactolaema | order of freshwater bryozoans |
| phylactolema | order of freshwater bryozoans |
| phylactolemata | order of freshwater bryozoans |
| phyllospondyli | order of extinct labyrinthodont amphibians |
| phyllostoma | genus of American leaf-nosed bats |
| phyllostomatidae | family of leaf-nosed bats |
| phyllostomatinae | subfamily of leaf-nosed bats |
| phyllostominae | subfamily of leaf-nosed bats |
| phymatidae | family of ambush bugs |
| physapoda | order of thrips, bladder-footed insects |
| physeterinae | subfamily of sperm whales |
| physonectae | suborder of siphonophores |
| physophora | genus of siphonophores |
| physophorae | group of air-sac siphonophores |
| physostomi | order of fishes with a ducted air-bladder |
| phytoflagellata | group of plant-like flagellates |
The other lists filed alongside this one.
