Hi Betty Jean, I don't want to wear out my welcome, but it's a slow day at the lab and I'm fighting boredom! Two hours to go!! In general, the same rules apply to subspecific names, whether geographic or not - Oliva annulata amethystina Cypraea caurica nigrocincta Strombus gibberulus albus Liguus fasciatus marmoratus However, there are many names on the books that don't follow the rules, especially older names. Your mentioning of geographic forms brought to mind another aspect that was not mentioned before. There are certain specific suffixes that are determined by the meaning of the specific name, rather than by the gender of the genus name. The most common of these are specific names that either honor a person or indicate a geographic locality. For example, the ending "ensis" on a specific or subspecific name indicates a geographic locality: Conus bengalensis Scutus sinensis Nassarius capensis Marginella thomensis Fissurella barbadensis Cypraea chinensis Cardium guanacastensis Cerithium erythraeensis Bittium vancouverensis Notice that the first three genus names above are masculine (ending us), the next three are feminine (ending a), and the last three are neuter (ending um). However, the specific suffix (ensis) remains constant. It is not influenced by the gender of the noun. "ensis" translates "comes from", therefore: chinensis means "comes from china" vancouverensis means "comes from Vancouver" (British Columbia) capensis means comes from the Cape (in this case, of Good Hope) and so on. This suffix can also be used for subspecific names, as in Conus floridanus floridensis. The other common case where the adjective ending does not have to match the noun ending is for species named after persons. In this case, the suffix of the specific name is determined by the gender of the person whose name is used, rather than the gender of the noun preceding. The usual suffixes employed are "i" for species named after a male, and "ae" for species named after a female. Cypraea walkeri Trigonostoma withrowi Euchelus lischkei Conus boschi Cerithium kochi Sinum grayi The above are all named after men, and have the masculine specific suffix (i), even though 2 genera are feminine (a), 2 masculine (us), and 2 neuter (um). Teramachia dupreyae Ancilla edithae Conus memiae Nassarius howardae Cerithium judithae Columbarium eastwoodae The above are all named after women, and have the feminine specific suffix (ae), even though 2 genera are feminine (a), 2 masculine (us), and 2 neuter (um). Regards, Paul M.