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Altocumulus clouds
Name that cloud
Cloudgazers seeking familiar shapes might have a tough time with these altocumulus clouds over Australia – they have characteristics of both stratiformis (streaky or wavy) and floccus (woolly or tufted) clouds. If all that Latin has you suspecting something science-y going on here, you'd be right. Just like flora and fauna, clouds can be taxonomised by genus and species. The altocumulus genus has five distinctly shaped species – castellanus, floccus, lenticularis, stratiformis and volutus – appearing at a wide range of elevations from 2,000 to 6,000 metres.
Name that cloud
Cloudgazers seeking familiar shapes might have a tough time with these altocumulus clouds over Australia – they have characteristics of both stratiformis (streaky or wavy) and floccus (woolly or tufted) clouds. If all that Latin has you suspecting something science-y going on here, you'd be right. Just like flora and fauna, clouds can be taxonomised by genus and species. The altocumulus genus has five distinctly shaped species – castellanus, floccus, lenticularis, stratiformis and volutus – appearing at a wide range of elevations from 2,000 to 6,000 metres.
Much as biologists do plants and animals, meteorologists classify clouds by genus and species.
© Andrew Merry / Moment / Getty Images 2026-09-11 08:45:51 :