Etymological database for Neotropical mammal genera and species

This dataset provides the etymological classification of the scientific names of all valid Neotropical mammal genera and species. Scientific names are assigned to one of six etymological categories: eponyms, toponyms, ethnonyms (names derived from ethnic groups), morphology and ecology, habitat, and other. Eponyms are names honoring individuals and typically end in -i, -ae, or -orum (ICZN, 1999). Toponyms are derived from geographic locations, whereas ethnonyms are based on the names of ethnic groups. The morphology and ecology category includes names referring to morphological traits or ecological characteristics, and the habitat category comprises names referring to particular environments or habitats. The other category includes names that do not fit the preceding classifications, such as those based on wordplay, institutions, or mythological figures. For each name, we also indicate whether it is derived from an Indigenous American language. The dataset was compiled from version 2.3 of the Mammal Diversity Database and filtered to include all valid non-marine mammal species occurring in the Neotropical region. In addition to the etymological classification, the dataset records the linguistic origin of each name and associated metadata used in our analyses. Version 1.0. This first release contains the etymological classification of 2,229 scientific names of Neotropical mammals, including 378 genera and 1,851 species. Morphological or ecological characteristics constitute the most common basis for scientific names (1,171 names; 52.5%), followed by eponyms (518; 23.2%) and toponyms (334; 15.0%). The dataset also identifies 309 names (13.9%) derived from Indigenous American languages, of which most are toponyms (173; 56.0%), followed by names referring to morphological or ecological characteristics (77; 24.9%).