# What is the animal adjective for rat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-animal-adjective-for-rat/279042 "2004-12-10T00:50:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-animal-adjective-for-rat/279042/41 "2004-12-11T01:22:45Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > I think eventually humans, extinct species of the genus _homo_, as well as some of the earlier bipedal apes from our line will come to be known universally as _hominini_. That transition hasn’t happened yet, and may never, but the trend appears to be toward making hominins (ourselves and our direct ancestors after the human/great ape split) a subset of hominids. If a species of hominini are found in the Southern U.S. region would they be known as Hominini grits? C’mon, this isn’t the worst joke in this thread … or is it? Don’t mind me I’m just frustrated because I knew the answer (which doesn’t happen often) and didn’t get here quick enough to post it. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-animal-adjective-for-rat/279042/42 "2004-12-11T01:36:42Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > C’mon, this isn’t the worst joke in this thread … or is it? No…I believe I’ve taken (and retaken, several times) that title for this thread… ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-animal-adjective-for-rat/279042/43 "2004-12-11T01:44:00Z")
Well it got a good groan out of me, so I say “Bravo!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-animal-adjective-for-rat/279042/44 "2004-12-11T01:51:15Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > So what is it that makes him rat-like? > > Oooops…sorry, never mind. > > 😉 I wasn’t the one looking for “murine”, I was looking for “musteline” (weasel-like). Let’s just say it wasn’t his looks so much as his behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-animal-adjective-for-rat/279042/45 "2004-12-11T04:22:35Z")
The word is “rat-tastic.” ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-animal-adjective-for-rat/279042/46 "2004-12-11T04:46:42Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Good point. The -ine endings refer to the genus, while the -id endings are for the family. Strictly speaking, lions and tigers are not felines although they are felids. Their genus adjective would be Pantherine. Yes, to be technical: the cat, lynx, puma, cheetah, lion, tiger, leopard, and jaguar are all Felids (of the Felid Family). The cat, lynx, and puma are the true Felines (of the Feline Subfamily). The cheetah is an Acinochine; and the lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar are Pantherines. Now, here’s the tricky part… what’s the English from of a Genus name? The cat’s Genus is Felis. If we make that ‘feline,’ how do we distinguish it from the Subfamily name? Among the Canid Family (coyote, wolf, dog, jackal, fox), there are no Subfamilies. And so we have the Canine Genus (coyote, wolf, dog, jackal) and the Vulpine Genus (foxes), and, I guess, the Urocyonine Genus of the gray fox. I guess if we want to be always correctly understood, then no matter how one forms the adjective in English, one should add the classification, as in: The Feline Subfamily v. the Feline Genus v. the Felid Family. > [@Loopydude](#): > > I think eventually humans, extinct species of the genus _homo_, as well as some of the earlier bipedal apes from our line will come to be known universally as _hominini_. That transition hasn’t happened yet, and may never, but the trend appears to be toward making hominins (ourselves and our direct ancestors after the human/great ape split) a subset of hominids. The Hominid Family (great apes, us included) and the Hylobatid Family (lesser apes, e.g., gibbons) form the Humanoid Superfamily (Hominoidea, the apes). The Hominid Family is divided into two Subfamilies: The Pongines (orangutans) and the Hominines (humans, chimps, and gorillas). The Hominine Subfamily is divided into two tribes: The Gorillini (gorillas) and the Hominini (humans and chimps). Yes, we have no English equivalent of ‘Hominini’ that would distinguish it from the Family of Hominines. Perhaps the Humines? or Homininines? Anyway, let’s just say we have a Hominine Subfamily and a Hominine Tribe. The Hominine Tribe is divided into the Genera of Pan (chimps and bonobos) and Homo (humans, including the extinct species). And so, note that chimps and bonobos are included in Hominini. Here’s a breakdown: ```auto ORDER: Carnivores ORDER: Rodents ORDER: Primates SUBORDER: Strepsirrhini (non-tarsier prosimians, lemurs [twisted? nose]) SUBORDER: Haplorhini (simple nose) INFRAORDER: Tarsiiformes FAMILY: Tarsiidae (tarsiers) INFRAORDER: Simiiformes (simians -- snub nose, or ‘ape’) SUBINFRAORDER: Platyrrhini (flat nose, New World Monkeys) [the above is an unranked division, I made up the rank name] FAMILY: Cebidae: marmosets, tamarins, capuchins and squirrel monkeys FAMILY: Nyctipithecidae: night monkeys, owl monkeys, douroucoulis FAMILY: Pitheciidae: titis, sakis and uakaris FAMILY: Atelidae: howler, spider and woolly monkeys SUBINFRAORDER: Catarrhini (skinny nose) [unranked division, I made up the rank name] SUPERFAMILY: Cercopithecoidea FAMILY: Cercopithecidae (Old World Monkeys - ‘tailed apes’ - monkeys, macaques, vervets, monas, guenons, baboons, mandrills, colobus, langurs) SUPERFAMILY: Hominoidea (humanoids) 'apes' FAMILY: Hylobatidae (gibbons) 'lesser apes' FAMILY: Hominidae (hominids) 'great apes' SUBFAMILY: Homininae (hominines) TRIBE: Hominini (homininies? humanish? homines?) GENUS: Homo (human) SPECIES: sapiens (humans ‘wise’) GENUS: Australopithecis SPECIES: afarensis (‘Lucy’, extinct) GENUS: Pan SPECIES: troglodytes (chimpanzee) SPECIES: paniscus (bonobo) TRIBE: Gorillini GENUS: Gorilla SPECIES: gorilla (western gorilla) SPECIES: beringei (eastern gorilla) SUBFAMILY: Ponginae GENUS: Pongo SPECIES: pymaeus (bornean organgutan) SPECIES: abelii (sumatran organgutan) ``` Peace. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-animal-adjective-for-rat/279042/47 "2004-12-11T05:02:37Z")
Cool! Chimps and bonobos are hominini too! I can’t help thinking that homi-nini makes us all sound like “dumb man”, but I guess as we move from the older Linnean taxonomy into something more representative of the molecular reality, we must agree that change is good. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-animal-adjective-for-rat/279042.md?page=2)