List of bacterial genera named after mythological figures

Several bacterial species are named after Greek or Roman mythical figures. The rules present for species named after a famous person do not apply, although some names are changed in the female nominative case, either by changing the ending to -a or to the diminutive -ella, depending on the name.^[1]

• Acidianus and Janibacter: Janus, a god in Roman mythology with two faces.
• Amphritea: Amphitrite ('Αμφιτρίτη), a sea-goddess and wife of Poseidon in Greek mythology and one of the 50 daughters of Nereus and Doris.
• Breoghania: Breogán, the first mythical Celtic king of Gallaecia in Celtic mythology.
• Chimaereicella: Chimaera (Χίμαιρα), a Greek mythological monstrous fire-breathing female creature with the fore part a lion, in the hinder a serpent, and in the middle a goat.
• Cronobacter: Cronos (Κρόνος), in Greco-Roman mythology leader of the Titans who swallowed each of his children as soon as they were born, excluding Zeus.
• Demetria (genus): Demeter, the Greek goddess of harvest.
• Ekhidna (genus): Echidna (Ἔχιδνα), a slimy woman/snake sea creature in Greek mythology.
• Eudoraea: Eudora (Εὐδώρα), one of the Hyades in Greek mythology
• Haliea: Halie (Ἁλίη), a sea nymph, also one of the 50 daughters of Nereus and Doris.
• Hellea: Helle (Ἕλλη), a Greek sea goddess.
• Melitea: Melite (Μελίτη), one of the naiads, daughter of the river god Aegaeus, and one of the many loves of Zeus and his son Heracles. Her son was Hylas.
• Neptuniibacter and Neptunomonas: Neptunius, the Roman god of the sea, equivalent of the Greek Poseidon.
• Nereida: A Nereid, which are sea nymphs daughters of Nereus.
• Nisaea (genus): Nicaea, a sea nymph and daughter of the river-god Sangarius and Cybele.
• Opitutus: Ops, a Roman Earth and harvest goddess married to Saturn. Equivalent of the Greek Rhea.
• Pandoraea: Pandora (Πανδώρα), the first woman who opened a jar, known as Pandora's box releasing evil into the world, in Greek mythology.
• Persephonella: Persephone (also known as Kore), is the daughter of Zeus and the harvest goddess Demeter, and queen of the underworld; she was abducted by Hades the king of the underworld.
• Pilimelia: Meliae (Μελίαι) were nymphs of the ash tree. Melia, one of them, was daughter of Oceanus and lover of her brother the river-god Inachus.
• Proteus and Thermoproteus: Proteus (Πρωτεύς), an early sea-god able to change himself into different shapes.
• Telluria: Tellus, a Roman goddess personifying the Earth.
• Vampirovibrio: A vampire, mythological beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of other creatures.
• Vulcanibacillus, Vulcanisaeta and Vulcanithermus: Vulcanus, the Roman god of fire.

See also

• List of bacterial genera named after geographical names
• List of bacterial genera named after institutions
• List of bacterial genera named after personal names
• list of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names
• List of Bacteria genera
• List of bacterial orders
• List of sequenced prokaryotic genomes
• List of clinically important bacteria
• List of sequenced archaeal genomes
• List of Archaea genera
• Synonym (taxonomy)
• Taxonomy
• LPSN, list of accepted bacterial and archaeal names

References

• names after mythology entry in LPSN [Euzéby, J.P. (1997). "List of Bacterial Names with Standing in Nomenclature: a folder available on the Internet". Int J Syst Bacteriol 47 (2): 590–2. doi:10.1099/00207713-47-2-590. ISSN 0020-7713. PMID 9103655.]

1. Help! Latin! How to avoid the most common mistakes while giving Latin names to newly discovered prokaryotes. Microbiología (Sociedad Española de Microbiología), 1996, 12, 473-475. http://www.bacterio.cict.fr/trueper.html