human zoologists eventually have to tackle the taxonomy of life on Yih. The first thing to do is give the yinrih a scientific name. Tree dwellers are in the same genus as yinrih, so they share the first scientific name.

For the genus, several names have been put forward.

Vulpithecus (latin vulpes (fox) + latinized greek pithecus (ape) seems to roll off the tongue the best, but other names are proposed such as alopecopithecus and vulpisimius. All of these are allusions to the yinrih's “monkey fox” nickname.

The yinrih's species name also has several candidates. Sapiens is the most obvious, but others are put forward as well. fidelis (faithful), pius (pious), and adorans (one who worships) are references to the missionaries who first discover Earth. The Partisans object to these overtly religious names for obvious reasons. Other candidates are ignifex (fire maker), astutus (cunning), and sagax (keen, shrewd).

The tree dwellers also get a species name, with ferox (fierce) and horribilis (horrible) being put forward in an (ultimately fruitless) attempt to discourage capturing pups for the pet trade on Earth*. silvestris (wild/of the forest) is also a candidate.

For now, the genus is Vulpithecus. The yinrih are V. fidelis and the tree dwellers are V. ferox.

* Yes that's right, humans try to keep a creature that lives ten times as long as them as a pet. The logic goes like this: if you get one as a new pup, they're in that more affectionate, docile youngster phase for basically the entire life of the original owner. By the time the tree dweller turns into an aggressive adult, the original owner has died and this animal that will live longer than the Western Roman Empire is now someone else's problem.