Etymologies of Brazilian Amphibians

Herpetologia Brasileira - Suplemento 1
Rupirana: L. rupis, cliff; rock + L. rana, frog. Rupirana Heyer, 1999. (“... The
name is to highlight the association of this genus with the campos rupestres
of Brazil ...”).
ruschii: Ruschi + L. -ii, suffix indicating the genitive of masculine names and
nouns. Honouring Augusto (“Guti”) Ruschi (1915-1986), Brazilian naturalist.
Hyla ruschii Weygoldt & Peixoto, 1987. Today Dendropsophus ruschii
(Weygoldt & Peixoto, 1987).
rusticus: L. rusticus, country, rural; plain, homely, rustic. Phyllomedusa rustica
Bruschi et al., 2014. [“... The epithet rustica originates from the Latin
rusticus and is used to indicate the characteristics of the fields where this
species is found (open fields) ...”]. Today Pithecopus rusticus (Bruschi et
al., 2014).
ruthveni: Ruthven + L. -i, suffix indicating the genitive of masculine names and
nouns. Honouring Alexander Grant Ruthven (1882-1971), US American
herpetologist. Allophryne ruthveni Gaige, 1926.
sabanensis: E. sabana, herbaceous formation characteristic of tropical regions
whith a long dry season, where grasses and large rhizomatous plants predominate,
with some sparse trees. + L. -ensis, belonging to a place. Leptodactylus
sabanensis Heyer, 1994. (“... Named to indicate this species is
geographically centered on the Gran Sabana of Venezuela ...”).
sachsi: Sachs + L. -i, suffix that indicates the genitive of masculine names and
nouns. Honouring Carl Sachs (?), German physicist. Pleurodema sachsi
Peters, 1877. Also Paludicola sachsi — Stejneger, 1933. In the synonymy of
Pleurodema brachyops (Cope, 1869).
saci: P. saci, from T. sa’si, sassy perere, an entity of Brazilian folklore, represented
by a one-legged black boy, who wears a red cap, smokes a pipe and lives
playing mischief, frightening visitors or scaring off cattle. Adenomera saci
Carvalho & Giaretta, 2013. (“... is an allusion to the whistle call pattern
emitted by the species that we associate to this well-known character in
Brazilian folklore ...”).
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