Tribe (taxonomy)

In biology, a tribe is a special group used to organize living things. It sits between a smaller group called a genus and a larger group called a family or subfamily. Sometimes, tribes are split into even smaller groups called subtribes.

In animal studies, or zoology, tribes have names that end in "-ini". For example, the tribe Caprini includes goat-antelopes, and the tribe Hominini includes humans and their close relatives. Some tribes, like Hominini, are divided into subtribes, such as Hominina, which includes humans.

In plant studies, or botany, tribes have names that end in "-eae". Examples are the tribes Acalypheae and Hyacintheae. The tribe Hyacintheae has subtribes like Massoniinae, and subtribes in plants end in "-inae".

For bacteria, tribe names follow the same pattern as in plants. An example is Pseudomonadeae, which is based on the name of the genus Pseudomonas.

Rank recognition

In biology, special word endings can help us know the group name for living things. For animals, ending a name with -ini tells us it is a tribe, and ending it with -ina tells us it is a subtribe. However, some endings like -eae can be used for many different groups, not just tribes. So, scientists need to look carefully to decide the correct group name.