Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank above genus, but below family and subfamily. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes. By convention, all taxa ranked above species are capitalized, including both tribe and subtribe.
In zoology, the standard ending for the name of a zoological tribe is "-ini". Examples include the tribes Caprini, Hominini, Bombini, and Thunnini. The tribe Hominini is sometimes divided into subtribes; subtribe Hominina then comprises "humans". The standard ending for the name of a zoological subtribe is "-ina".
In botany, the standard ending for the name of a botanical tribe is "-eae". Examples include the tribes Acalypheae and Hyacintheae. The tribe Hyacintheae is divided into subtribes, including the subtribe Massoniinae. The standard ending for the name of a botanical subtribe is "-inae".
In bacteriology, the form of tribe names is as in botany, e.g., Pseudomonadeae, based on the genus name Pseudomonas.

Rank recognition

An unfamiliar taxonomic rank cannot necessarily be identified as a tribe merely by the presence of one of the standard suffixes:

zoological -ini uniquely suffixes the animal tribe
zoological -ina uniquely suffixes the animal subtribe
zoological -inae uniquely suffixes the animal subfamily
botanical -eae also suffixes class -phyceae, suborder -ineae, family -aceae, and subfamily -oideae

Accordingly, working within animals alone, subfamily -inae, tribe -ini, and subtribe -ina are unique suffixes to their specific taxonomic ranks. At the other extreme, working within algae alone, -eae suffixes class -phyceae, suborder -ineae, family -aceae, subfamily -oideae, and tribe -eae. The longer suffixes themselves suffixed with -eae must first be eliminated before recognizing an unfamiliar -eae designation as belonging to rank tribe.