What was the initial, now invalid, genus name Savage applied to *Gorilla gorilla*?
Answer
*Troglodytes*
When Thomas Savage first described the species in 1847, he initially classified the animal under the genus name *Troglodytes*. This classification proved to be invalid because the genus *Troglodytes* was already in established use for certain species of wren. Taxonomists subsequently had to create a new genus name, *Gorilla*, while retaining the specific epithet *gorilla*, leading to the binomial name *Gorilla gorilla*. The root word *gorilla* itself is believed to derive from the Greek word *gorillai*.
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