Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
genus Pinguinus

genus Pinguinus

9.9
A group of flightless birds that included the great auk and is now extinct
  • proper noun
  • Specialized
: género Pinguinus
  • The genus Pinguinus included the great auk, a bird that once inhabited the North Atlantic.

Examples

  • The genus Pinguinus includes the now-extinct great auk.

  • Researchers studied fossils of the genus Pinguinus to learn about its evolutionary history.

  • Extinction of the genus Pinguinus is often cited in discussions about human impact on wildlife.

  • Did the genus Pinguinus have any living relatives?

  • The genus Pinguinus was known for the great auk, a bird that could not fly.

  • Scientists have discovered new fossils of the genus Pinguinus in Iceland.

  • Many researchers focus on the genus Pinguinus to understand the effects of climate change on species extinction.

Surface Forms

genus Pinguinus main

Morphology

genus + Pinguinus

The phrase simply combines the noun 'genus' (a biological grouping) with a proper name 'Pinguinus', so a learner who knows both constituents will readily infer it means 'the genus called Pinguinus'. Specific historical details in the provided definition (e.g. that it referred to the great auk or is now extinct) are encyclopedic and not derivable from the words, but the basic taxonomic meaning is transparently compositional.

Etymology

Genus Pinguinus was the name for the great auk, a large sea bird that could not fly, looked a bit like a penguin, and was hunted until it became 'extinct'. So today genus Pinguinus means that former group of flightless birds, now 'extinct'.