Etymologies of Brazilian Amphibians

Herpetologia Brasileira - Suplemento 1
ish herpetologist active in Venezuela. Osteocephalus ayarzaguenai Gorzula
& Señaris, 1997 “1996”. In the synonymy of Osteocephalus leprieurii
(Duméril & Bibron, 1841).
ayeaye: F., from Ma. aye-aye 2 , Daubentonia madagascariensis Gray, 1863.
Pithecopus ayeaye B. Lutz, 1966. (“... In 1868, Cope chose the appropriate
trivial name tarsius for a large Pithecopus ... Later, Boulenger named two
other ... Phyllomedusa lemur and P. loris ... The author thus adds one of
the names not yet used, ayeaye ...”). Also Phyllomedusa ayeaye — Duellman,
1968.
azarai: Azara + L. -i, suffix indicating the genitive of masculine names and nouns.
Honouring Félix Francisco José Pedro de Azara y Perera (1742-1821),
Spanish military officer, engineer, and naturalist. Bufo granulosus azarai
Gallardo, 1965. Today Rhinella azarai (Gallardo, 1965).
azurea, azureus: L. azurea, -us, azure; blue; of lapis lazuli. (1) Dendrobates
azureus Hoogmoed, 1969. (“... Above and below bright blue with black
spots ...”). Also Dendrobates tinctorius azureus — Ouboter & Jairam,
2012. In the synonymy of Dendrobates tinctorius (Cuvier, 1797). (2) Phyllomedusa
azurea Cope, 1862. (“... Color of the upper surfaces of the body
and extremities, except that of the brachium, milky purplish blue ...”). Also
Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis azurea — Mertens, 1926. Pithecopus hypochondrialis
azureus — B. Lutz, 1966. Today Pithecopus azureus (Cope,
1862).
babax: G. babac (βάβαξ), chatterer, a vain talker. Hylodes babax Heyer, 1982. [“...
The name babax is Greek for chatterer, in allusion both to the insistent diurnal
calling of this species (as in many other Hylodes species) and to the
fact that of the two species of the H. lateristrigatus group from Caparaó,
this is the only one known to call ...”].
bacurau: P. bacurau, common name for several nocturnal birds in tropical Amer-
2 Name coined by Sonnerat (1782), referring to a strepsirrhine primate: “... Le nom de Aye-aye que je lui ai conservé
est un cri d’exclamation & d’étonnement des habitans de Madagascar; nous ne le connoissons que depuis
peu d’années, parce que nous fréquentons peu la côte de l’Ouest, partie de cette île qu’il habite; les habitans de la
côte de l’Est m’assurèrent que c’étoit le premier qu’ils avoient vu ...”
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