Paul,

Don't most superfamilies end in -acea?

Peter

At 11:33 PM 1/16/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi Barbara,
>
>Actually, superfamily names end in -oidea
>It is family names that end in -idae
>and subfamily names in -inae
>The family ending itself always has a single "i" -idae
>A double "i" (iidae) is the result of adding the standard -idae ending
>onto a noun root that ends in "i".
>The majority of such roots do not end in "i"
>VOLUT-
>OLIV-
>ARCHITECTONIC-
>CON-
>VENER-
>PECTIN-
>So the family name becomes Volut-idae; Oliv-idae; Architectonic-idae; etc.
>But when the root itself ends in "i"
>CERITHI-
>TRIVI-
>LOTTI-
>MOPALI-
>Then adding the standard -idae ending yields:
>Cerithi-idae; Trivi-idae; Lotti-idae; Mopali-idae
>
>Paul M.
>
>
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