synonym

From Middle English sinonyme, from Latin synōnymum, from Ancient Greek συνώνυμον (sunṓnumon), neuter singular form of συνώνυμος (sunṓnumos, “synonymous”), from σύν (sún, “with”) + ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”). By surface analysis, syn- + -onym.

(taxonomy, botany) Any name for a taxon, usually a validly published, formally accepted one, but often also an unpublished name.


imperfect

en-adj

imperfect (comparative more imperfect, superlative most imperfect)

more imperfect (comparative)
most imperfect (superlative)

From Middle English imperfit, from Old French imparfit (modern French imparfait), from Latin imperfectus. Spelling modified 15c. to conform Latin etymology. See im- + perfect.

(taxonomy) known or expected to be polyphyletic, as of a form taxon.


sibling

1903, modern revival of Old English sibling (“relative, a relation, kinsman”), equivalent to sib + -ling. Compare Middle English siblynges pl, sib, sibbe (“relative; kinsman”), German Sippe. The term apparently meant merely kin or relative until the 20th century when it was applied in a way that aided the study of genetics, which led to its specialized use. For example, the OED has a 1903 citation in which "sibling" must be defined for those who don't know the intended meaning.

lbor

D. simulans, D. mauritiana and D. sechellia (which we will call “the siblings” when we do not need to distinguish among them) have homosequential polytene chromosome banding patterns differing from those of D. melanogaster by one long inversion on chromosome arm 3R and a few much smaller inversions.

1990 April 1, P. Hutter et al., “A genetic basis for the inviability of hybrids between sibling species of Drosophila”, in Genetics, volume 124, number 4, pages 909–920:

Bush suggested that this difference might represent a case of chromosomal polymorphism or, more likely, sibling species.

2015 November 26, Lucie Vaníčková et al., “Current knowledge of the species complex Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera, Tephritidae) in Brazil”, in ZooKeys, volume 540, →DOI, pages 211–237:

(taxonomy) The most closely related species, or one of several most closely related species when none can be determined to be more closely related.


homonym

en:word with same spelling or same sound or both

(broadly) A word that sounds or is spelled the same as another word (but not necessarily both).

(taxonomy) A name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another name that belongs to a different taxon.


species

en-noun

species (countable and uncountable, plural species or (rare, nonstandard) specieses)

species (plural)
specieses (nonstandard plural rare)

From Latin speciēs (“appearance; quality”), from speciō (“see”) + -iēs suffix signifying abstract noun. Doublet of spice.

Hence, in determining whether a form should be ranked as a species or a variety, the opinion of naturalists having sound judgment and wide experience seems the only guide to follow.

1859 November 24, Charles Darwin, “Variation under Nature”, in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 47:

Firstly, I continue to base most species treatments on personally collected material, rather than on herbarium plants.

1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:

Plant breeding is always a numbers game.[…]The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.

2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:

(biology, taxonomy) A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below genus; a taxon at that rank.


stem

From Middle English stem, stemme, stempne, stevin, from Old English stemn, from Proto-West Germanic *stamni, from Proto-Germanic *stamniz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand, stay”).

der

the apple does not fall far from the stem

(taxonomy) A branch, or group of branches, located outside a family or other cladistic group, but which is more closely related to that group than to any other taxon of the same rank.


kingdom

From Middle English kingdom, kyngdom, from Old English cyningdōm from Proto-Germanic *kuningadōmaz, equivalent to king + -dom. Cognate with Scots kingdom, West Frisian keuningdom, Dutch koningdom, German Königtum, Danish kongedømme, Swedish kungadöme, and Icelandic konungdómur.
Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *kuningadōmaz
Proto-West Germanic *kuningadōm
Old English cyningdōm
Middle English kingdom
English kingdom

etymon

it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

(taxonomy) A rank in the classification of organisms, below domain and above phylum; a taxon at that rank (e.g. the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom).

koninkryk

taxonomic division, below Domain and above Phylum


black

en-adj

black (comparative blacker or more black, superlative blackest or most black)

blacker (comparative)
more black (comparative)
blackest (superlative)
most black (superlative)

Bislama: blak

Sranan Tongo: blaka

Aukan: baaka

→ Caribbean Hindustani: blaaka

Tok Pisin: blak

Torres Strait Creole: blaik

→ Dutch: black

→ French: black

→ Greek: μπλάκης (blákis)

From Middle English blak, black, blake, from Old English blæc (“black, dark", also "ink”), from Proto-West Germanic *blak, from Proto-Germanic *blakaz (“burnt”) (compare Dutch blaken (“to burn”), Low German blak, black (“blackness, black paint, (black) ink”), Old High German blah (“black”)), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleg- (“to burn, shine”) (compare Latin flagrāre (“to burn”), Ancient Greek φλόξ (phlóx, “flame”), Sanskrit भर्ग (bharga, “radiance”)). More at bleak.

sort

of coffee or tea, without milk or other whitener

black birch; black locust; black rhino

Having one or more features (hair, fur, armour, clothes, bark, etc.) that is dark (or black).

(taxonomy, especially) Dark in comparison to another species with the same base name.


vernacular

en-adj

vernacular (comparative more vernacular, superlative most vernacular)

more vernacular (comparative)
most vernacular (superlative)

From Latin vernāculus (“domestic, indigenous, of or pertaining to home-born slaves”), from verna (“a native, a home-born slave (one born in his master's house)”).

uder

An English vernacular name for Rosa multiflora is multiflora rose.

(taxonomy) Not attempting to use the rules of a taxonomic code, especially, not using scientific Latin.


tribe

PIE word
 *tréyes
From Middle English tribe, tribu, from Old French tribu, from Latin tribus. Doublet of tribus.

(taxonomy) A hierarchical rank between family and genus.

nemzetség

taxonomy: hierarchical rank between family and genus


complex

From French complexe, from Latin complexus, past participle of complector (“I entwine, encircle, compass, infold”), from com- (“together”) and plectere (“to weave, braid”). May be analyzed as com- + -plex. See complect. Doublet of complexus.

համալիր

assemblage of related things, collection

coordination complex

coordinated complex, metal complex, Werner complex

Since then, a good deal of research has documented and concluded that the nominal species A. fraterculus actually comprises an unresolved complex of cryptic species.

2015 November 26, Mosè Manni et al., “Relevant genetic differentiation among Brazilian populations of Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera, Tephritidae)”, in ZooKeys, volume 540, →DOI:

An assemblage of related things; a collection.

(taxonomy) A group of closely related species, often distinguished only with difficulty by traditional morphological methods.


common

en-adj

common (comparative more common, superlative most common)

rare

antonym(s) of “occurring in large numbers or in a large quantity”

From Middle English comun, from Anglo-Norman comun, from Old French comun (rare in the Gallo-Romance languages, but reinforced as a Carolingian calque of Proto-West Germanic *gamainī (“common”) in Old French), from Latin commūnis (“common, public, general”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱom-moy-ni-s (“held in common”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to exchange, change”). Displaced native Middle English imene, ȝemǣne (“common, general, universal”) (from Old English ġemǣne (“common, universal”)), Middle English mene, mǣne (“mean, common”) (also from Old English ġemǣne (“common, universal”)), Middle English samen, somen (“in common, together”) (from Old English samen (“together”)). Doublet of gmina.

cog

gender of coalescence of masculine of feminine

the common daisy (Bellis perennis)

(taxonomy) As part of the vernacular name of a species, usually denoting that it is abundant or widely known.

common name vs. scientific name.

(taxonomy) Vernacular, referring to the name of a kind of plant or animal.


family

en-noun

family (countable and uncountable, plural families)

Jamaican Creole: faambli, fambili

Tok Pisin: famili

Sranan Tongo: famiri

→ Chuukese: famini

→ Malay: famili

→ Maori: whāmere

From Late Middle English famylye, from Latin familia (“a household”). Displaced native Old English hīred. Doublet of familia.

عَائِلَة

group of people related by blood, marriage, law, or custom

the family that lays together stays together

the family that prays together stays together

the family that sleeps together keeps together

Magnolias belong to the family Magnoliaceae.

The closest affinities of the Jubulaceae are with the Lejeuneaceae. The two families share in common: a elaters usually 1-spiral, trumpet-shaped and fixed to the capsule valves, distally[…].

1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page 4:

(countable, biology, taxonomy) A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below order and above genus; a taxon at that rank.

familie

rank in a taxonomic classification, above both genus and species


split

→ Irish: spliota

Attested since about 1567, from Middle Dutch splitten (“to split”) and/or Middle Low German splitten (“to split”), both ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *splittjan, an intensive form of Proto-West Germanic *splītan (“to split”), from Proto-Germanic *splītaną (whence Danish splitte, Low German splieten, German spleißen), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pley- (“to split, splice”).
Compare Middle English ysplett (“split”, past participle of splatten (“to split”)), Old English speld (“splinter”), Old High German spaltan (“to split”), Old Irish sliss (“splinter”), Lithuanian spaliai (“flax sheaves”), Czech půl (“half”), Old Church Slavonic рас-плитати (ras-plitati, “to cleave, split”).

cog

past participle of <i class="Latn mention" lang="enm">splatten</i> (“to split”)

let the door hit you where the good Lord split you

[I]t would be a rare split in that it would be unlikely to result in an armchair tick for any birders, living or dead.

2017 June 5, Australian Birdlife, Carlton, Victoria, page 76, column 1:

(systematics) The division of a single taxon into two or more taxa; as opposed to a lump.


domain

range

antonym(s) of “domain of definition of a function”

From Middle English demayne, demain (“rule”), from Old French demeine, demaine, demeigne, domaine (“power”), (French domaine), from Latin dominium (“property, right of ownership”), from dominus (“master, proprietor, owner”). See dame, and compare demain, danger, dungeon. Doublet of demesne, domino.

definisieversameling

(mathematics) the set on which a function is defined

(taxonomy) The highest rank in the classification of organisms, above kingdom; in the three-domain system, one of the taxa Bacteria, Archaea, or Eukaryota.

domein

(taxonomy) highest-level grouping of organisms


key

en-verb

key (third-person singular simple present keys, present participle keying, simple past and past participle keyed)

keys (present singular third-person)
keying (participle present)
keyed (participle past)
keyed (past)

From Middle English keye, kaye, keiȝe, from Old English cǣġ (“key, solution, experiment”) (whence also Scots key and kay (“key”)), of uncertain origin. The only sure cognates are Saterland Frisian Koai (“key”), West Frisian kaai (“key”), and North Frisian kay (“key”). Possibly from Proto-Germanic *kēgaz, *kēguz (“stake, post, pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵogʰ-, *ǵegʰ-, *ǵegʰn- (“branch, stake, bush”), which would make it cognate with Middle Low German kāk (“whipping post, pillory”), and perhaps to Middle Dutch keige (“javelin, spear”) and Middle Low German keie, keige (“spear”). For the semantic development, note that medieval keys were simply long poles (ending in a hook) with which a crossbar obstructing a door from the inside could be removed from the outside, by lifting it through a hole in the door. Liberman has noted, however, "The original meaning of *kaig-jo- was presumably '*pin with a twisted end.' Words with the root *kai- followed by a consonant meaning 'crooked, bent; twisted' are common only in the North Germanic languages."

cog

(intransitive, biology, chiefly taxonomy) To be identified as a certain taxon when using a key.


ordinal

Borrowed from Latin ōrdinālis, adjective formed from noun ōrdō (“order”), + adjective suffix -ālis.

(taxonomy) Pertaining to a taxon at the rank of order.


division

en-noun

division (countable and uncountable, plural divisions)

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English divisioun, from Old French division, from Latin dīvīsiō, dīvīsiōnem, noun of process form from perfect passive participle dīvīsus (“divided”), from dīvidō (“divide”). Doublet of divisio.

remainder left over if divisor does not divide dividend

Magnolias belong to the division Magnoliophyta.

(taxonomy) A rank below kingdom and above class, particularly used of plants or fungi, also (particularly of animals) called a phylum; a taxon at that rank.

門

biology: taxonomic classification of plants


phylum

From Latin phylum, from Ancient Greek φῦλον (phûlon, “tribe, race”).

der

Mammals belong to the phylum Chordata.

While biologists are perpetually finding new species, they can almost always fit the organism into one of the existing taxonomic pigeonholes by which scientists classify life forms. The discovery of an organism so unusual that it needs its own phylum is an extremely rare event.

1995 December 14, Natalie Angier, “Flyspeck on a Lobster Lip Turns Biology on Its Ear”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(taxonomy) A rank in the classification of organisms, below kingdom and above class; also called a divisio or a division, especially in describing plants; a taxon at that rank

filum

(biology, taxonomy) A rank in the classification of organisms, below kingdom and above class


taxonomy

en-noun

taxonomy (countable and uncountable, plural taxonomies)

Borrowed from French taxonomie. By surface analysis, taxo- + -nomy.

(taxonomy, uncountable) The science of finding, describing, classifying and naming organisms.


order

order (countable and uncountable, plural orders)

→ Swahili: oda

From Middle English ordre, from Old French ordre, ordne, ordene (“order, rank”), from Latin ōrdinem, accusative of ōrdō (“row, rank, regular arrangement”, literally “row of threads in a loom”), from Proto-Italic *ordō (“to arrange”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂or-d-, from *h₂er-.
Related to Latin ōrdior (“begin”, literally “begin to weave”). In sense “request for purchase”, compare bespoke. Doublet of ordo.

cog

Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.

2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193:

The magnolia and nutmeg families belong to the order Magnoliales.

(countable, biology, taxonomy) A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below class and above family; a taxon at that rank.


genus

en-noun

genus (plural genera or (both nonstandard) genuses or genusses)

genera (plural)
genuses (nonstandard plural)
genusses (nonstandard plural)

→ Malayalam: ജീനസ് (jīnasŭ)

→ Swahili: jenasi

→ Thai: สกุล (sà-gun) (semantic loan)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-os
Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os
Latin genusbor.
English genus
Borrowed from Latin genus (“birth, origin, a race, sort, kind”) from the root gen- in Latin gignō (“to beget, produce”). Doublet of gender, genre, and kin.

genus

rank in a taxonomic classification between family and species

All magnolias belong to the genus Magnolia.

Other species of the genus Bos are often called cattle or wild cattle.

There are only two genera and species of seadragons.

Müller […] criticized the division of the "Jubuleae" into two families and he cited Jubula as an annectant genus.

1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page 6:

(biology, taxonomy) A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below family (Lat. familia) and above species.


class

en-noun

class (countable and uncountable, plural classes)

→ Assamese: ক্লাছ (klas)

→ Bengali: ক্লাস (klaś)

q

or from French <i class="Latn mention" lang="fr">classe</i>

→ Gulf Arabic: كلاس (klās) (or from French classe)

→ Hindustani:

Hindi: क्लास (klās)

Urdu: کلاس

→ Japanese: クラス (kurasu)

→ Korean: 클래스 (keullaeseu)

→ Nepali: क्लास (klās)

→ Scottish Gaelic: clas

→ Thai: คลาส (kláas)

→ Yoruba: kíláàsì

From Middle French classe, from Latin classis (“a class or division of the people, assembly of people, the whole body of citizens called to arms, the army, the fleet, later a class or division in general”), from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call, shout”). Doublet of clas and classis.

class action

class-action, class action lawsuit, class suit

Magnolias belong to the class Magnoliopsida.

(taxonomy, countable) A rank in the classification of organisms, below phylum and above order; a taxon of that rank.

klas

taxonomy: classification below Phylum and above Order


generic

en-adj

generic (comparative more generic, superlative most generic)

more generic (comparative)
most generic (superlative)

gendered

antonym(s) of “neither masculine nor feminine”

From Middle French générique, from Latin genus (“genus, kind”) + -ic; thus morphologically parallel with, and a doublet of, general.

There are scores of generic names within the order Decapoda, which includes many sea creatures that are called shrimp.

en:of whole classes, including genera
en:of whole genera of life

Very comprehensive; pertaining or appropriate to large classes or groups (genera) as opposed to specific instances.

(taxonomy) Pertaining to genera of life instead of particular species thereof.


binomial

Binominal nomenclature
Gerard of Cremona

Formed from Late Latin binōmium + -al. The derivation of binōmium is unclear. It was used by Gerard of Cremona in the 12th century. Suggested sources are the Latin nōmen (“name”), the Ancient Greek νομός (nomós, “distribution, pasture”), or the Old French nom (“name”). Compare binomy and binominal, as well as the French binôme. By surface analysis, bi- + -nomial.

der

Common name followed by Latin binomial in parentheses.

1991, Daniel W. Gade, “Weeds in Vermont as Tokens of Socioeconomic Change”, in Geographical Review, volume 81, number 2, →JSTOR, page 169:

(taxonomy) A scientific name at the rank of species, with two terms: a generic name and a specific name.


polynomial

/ˌpɒlɪˈnəʊmɪəl/

From poly- + -nomial, from νομός (nomós, “portion, part”), by analogy with binomial.

(taxonomy) A taxonomic designation (such as of a subspecies) consisting of more than two terms.


polynomial

/ˌpɒlɪˈnəʊmɪəl/

(taxonomy) Of a polynomial name or entity.


cohort

From Latin cohors (stem cohort-); borrowed into Old English as coorta, but reintroduced into Middle English as cōhort and chōors via Old French cohorte. Doublet of court.

(taxonomy) A natural group of orders of organisms, less comprehensive than a class.


type

→ Japanese: タイプ

→ Korean: 타입 (taip)

From Middle English type (“symbol, figure, emblem”), from Latin typus, from Ancient Greek τύπος (túpos, “mark, impression, type”), from τύπτω (túptō, “I strike, beat”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp-. Related to stupid, stupefy and stop.

tyyppiyksilö

biology: individual representative of its taxonomic group

...thus Stearn has designated Linnaeus as the type specimen of Homo sapiens

2009 March 20, Greg Mayer, “Who is the type specimen of Homo sapiens?”, in Why Evolution Is True:

Musca domestica is the type-species of Musca, a genus originally created by Linnaeus for a variety of higher Diptera, many of which are now known to be in other families.

2015 December 16, “What's in a fly?”, in Natural History Museum:

(taxonomy) Something, often a specimen, selected as an objective anchor to connect a scientific name to a taxon; this need not be representative or typical.


form

en-noun

form (countable and uncountable, plural forms)

→ Korean: 폼 (pom)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: form

From Middle English forme (“shape, figure, manner, bench, frame, seat, condition, agreement, etc.”), borrowed from Old French forme, from Latin fōrma (“shape, figure, image, outline, plan, mold, frame, case, etc., manner, sort, kind, etc.”).
The now dated UK school sense ("division grouping school students") is derived from public school nomenclature, which was later used by state schools. It is sometimes said to be from the sense of "bench", where students of certain ages would sit together, though this is disputed, or alternatively from the sense of "established method of expression or practice".

der

imitation is the sincerest form of flattery


diagnosis

en-noun

diagnosis (countable and uncountable, plural diagnoses)

/daɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/

From Latin diagnōsis, from Ancient Greek διάγνωσις (diágnōsis), from διαγιγνώσκω (diagignṓskō, “to discern”), from διά (diá, “through”) + γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō, “to know”).

diagnozë

identification of the nature and cause of an illness

Diagnose

identification of the nature and cause of something

The repeated exposure, over decades, to most taxa here treated has resulted in repeated modifications of both diagnoses and discussions, as initial ideas of the various taxa underwent—often repeated—conceptual modification.

1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page viii:

(taxonomy) A written description of a species or other taxon serving to distinguish that species from all others; especially a description written and published in Latin.


clade

From Ancient Greek κλάδος (kládos, “shoot, branch”). Coined by British evolutionary biologist, philosopher, author Julian Huxley in 1957 in a paper titled "The three types of evolutionary process" in Nature. Doublet of cladus.

coin

All three clades containing Prunum and “Volvarina” species contain morphological features that do not collectively appear in any other living or fossil marginellid species (see above).

2001, Ross H. Nehm, “6: Linking Evolutionary Pattern and Development Process in Marginellid Gastropods”, in Alan H. Cheetham, Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Scott Lidgard, Frank K. McKinney, editors, Evolutionary Patterns: Growth, Form, and Tempo in the Fossil Record, page 166:

No one has ever tabulated the number or percentage of non-trending clades within larger monophyletic groups. The concept of a non-trending clade — the higher level analog of a species in stasis — has never been explicitly formulated at all. If only one percent of clades exhibited sustained trends, we would still focus our attention upon this tiny minority in telling our favored version of the story of life's history.

2002, Stephen Jay Gould, The Structure of Evolutionary Theory, page 1092:

A clade is made up of an ancestral species and all its descendants; think of it as that part of an evolutionary tree that would fall off with a single saw cut.

2004 September 11, Bob Holmes, Linnean naming system faces challengers, New Scientist, page 13:

(systematics) A group of animals or other organisms derived from a common ancestor species.


clade

en-verb

clade (third-person singular simple present clades, present participle clading, simple past and past participle claded)

clades (present singular third-person)
clading (participle present)
claded (participle past)
claded (past)

The phylogenetic tree for CiCBR shows it clades with the human cannabinoid receptors rather than with those other human GPCRs which most closely resemble the cannabinoid receptors.

2009, Andrew J. Brown and C. Robin Hiley, "Is GPR55 an Anandamide Receptor?" in Anandamide An Endogenous Cannabinoid (Vitamins And Hormones, Vol. 81), p. 117


genotype

/ˈdʒɛnəʊˌtaɪp/

/ˈd͡ʒɛnəˌtaɪp/

(taxonomy, obsolete) The type species of a genus; generitype.


ally

From Middle English allie, alie [and other forms], probably partly:
* from allien (verb): see etymology 1; and
* from Anglo-Norman allié, alié, alyé, allyé, Middle French allié, alié, allyé (“associate, supporter; friend; relative; person, state, etc., associated or united with another by alliance or treaty”), and Old French alliiet (“military or political ally”) (modern French allié), a noun use of the past participle of Anglo-Norman alier, allier, Middle French alier, allier, and Old French alier (verb): see etymology 1.

der

The order of Gruiformes includes cranes and their allies.

Procyonids (raccoons and their allies), a group of North American origin, are first recorded in South America in a level immediately below a unit dated at 6.0 million years.

1979, Larry G. Marshall et al., “Calibration of the Great American Interchange: A radioisotope chronology for Late Tertiary interchange of terrestrial faunas between the Americas.”, in Science, volume 204, number 4390, →DOI, pages 272–279:

Something regarded as connected with or related to another thing by similarity in features or nature.

(taxonomy) An organism which is related to another organism through common evolutionary origin; specifically, a species which is closely related to another species, usually within the same family.


description

en-noun

description (countable and uncountable, plural descriptions)

From Middle English descripcioun, from Old French description and its etymon, Latin dēscrīptiō, noun of action of dēscrībō (“I describe”).

The type description of the fungus was written by a botanist.

(taxonomy) A scientific documentation of a taxon for the purpose of introducing it to science.

kuvaus

taxonomy: scientific documentation of a taxon


describe

en-verb

describe (third-person singular simple present describes, present participle describing, simple past and past participle described)

describes (present singular third-person)
describing (participle present)
described (participle past)
described (past)

From Middle English descriven, from Old French descrivre, from Latin dēscrībō (“I copy off, transcribe, sketch off, describe in painting or writing”), from dē (“off”) + scrībō (“write”); see scribe and shrive. Displaced native Old English āmearcian.

der

The fungus was first described by a botanist.

(transitive, taxonomy) To introduce a new taxon to science by explaining its characteristics and particularly how it differs from other taxa.


clavis

From Latin clāvis (“a key”). Doublet of clef.

There are many disadvantages in using a clavis intended for another country, which necessarily includes plants that are absent from our islands while it omits some that are present and neglects the peculiarities of our island flora.

1921, Alexander Irvine, “Short Notes: Rosa spinosissima×rubiginosa×f. cantiana, forma nova”, in Journal of Botany, British and Foreign, volume 59, number 702, page 180:

(taxonomy) A key; an identification guide; a series of logically organized groups of discriminating information which aims to allow the user to correctly identify a taxon.

検索表

groups of information used for identifying a taxon


vulgar

en-adj

vulgar (comparative more vulgar or vulgarer, superlative most vulgar or vulgarest)

more vulgar (comparative)
vulgarer (comparative)
most vulgar (superlative)
vulgarest (superlative)

From Middle English vulgare, from Latin vulgāris, from volgus, vulgus (“mob; common folk”), from Proto-Indo-European *wl̥k-. Compare Welsh gwala (“plenty, sufficiency”), Ancient Greek ἁλία (halía, “assembly”), εἰλέω (eiléō, “to compress”), Old Church Slavonic великъ (velikŭ, “great”).

cog

vulgar bush brown (Bicyclus vulgaris)

A vulture (V. aura), probably the Acabiry first described by Azara, is here called […] the hunter. It resembles in form the vulgar bird, but it flies high. The head is red, and the wings are black with silver lining, like the noble Bateleur of Africa.

1869, Richard Francis Burton, The Highlands of the Brazil, page 85:

(especially taxonomy) Common, usual; of the typical kind.


chaser

Inherited from Middle English chaser, chacer, chasour, borrowed from Old French chaceür, chaceor, from chacier (“to chase, hunt”); later senses from or influenced by chase (“pursue”) + -er. Doublet of chasseur.

преследва́ч

person or thing (ship, plane, car, etc.) who chases

(taxonomy) Any dragonfly of family Libellulidae.


affinity

en-noun

affinity (countable and uncountable, plural affinities)

From Middle English affinite, from Old French affinité. Ostensibly equivalent to affine + -ity.

(taxonomy) Resemblances between biological populations, suggesting that they have a common origin, type or stock.


realm

From Middle English rewme, realme, reaume, from Old French reaume, realme (“kingdom”), of unclear origins. A postulated *rēgālimen (“domain, kingdom”), Late Latin or Vulgar Latin cross of regimen with rēgālis is usually cited.

(virology, taxonomy) A taxonomic rank in the phylogeny of viruses, higher than kingdoms.


rank

rank (countable and uncountable, plural ranks)

From Middle English rank (“line, row”), from Old French ranc, rang, reng (“line, row, rank”) (Modern French rang), from Frankish *hring (“ring”), from Proto-Germanic *hringaz (“something bent or curved”).
Akin to Old High German (h)ring, Old Frisian hring, Old English hring, hrincg (“ring”), Old Norse hringr (“ring, circle, queue, sword; ship”). Doublet of ring and rink.

cog

Phylum is the taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class.

(taxonomy) A level in a scientific taxonomy system.


supertribe

taxonomists have been inventing a confusing raft of ranks, such as phalanxes, infracohorts and supertribes

2004 September 11, New Scientist, page 13:

(taxonomy) one of the ranks used in classifying animal life forms; a supertribe is more specific than a subfamily and more general than a tribe


infracohort

(taxonomy) One of the ranks used in classifying animal life forms; an infracohort is more specific than a subcohort and more general than a subtercohort.


PhyloCode

They want to replace it with a more rational scheme they call the PhyloCode […] Given the hostile reception PhyloCode has received so far, they have a lot of convincing to do […]

2004 September 11, New Scientist, pages 12–13:

A draft Code of formal nomenclature intended to allow naming phylogenetic groups, of all living things, rather than taxonomic groups (taxa). Officially, such names are intended to supplement scientific names rather than replace them.


superior

/sʉːˈpɪə.ɹiː.ə/

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French superiour, from Latin superior (“higher, upper”).

A genus is superior to a species.


basal

en-adj

basal (comparative more basal, superlative most basal)

more basal (comparative)
most basal (superlative)

Hittite is a basal Indo-European language.

A magnolia is a basal angiosperm.

(chiefly systematics) In a phylogenetic tree, being a group, or member of a group, which diverged earlier. The earliest clade to branch in a larger clade.


emendation

en-noun

emendation (countable and uncountable, plural emendations)

/ˌɛmənˈdeɪʃən/

/ɪˌmɛnˈdeɪʃən/

From Middle English emendatioun, from Latin ēmendātiō; equivalent to emend + -ation.

The genus name Uramyia is an unjustified emendation of Uramya even though it uses a better transliteration of the Greek word μυῖα.

(zoology, taxonomy) An intentional change in the spelling of a scientific name, which is usually not allowed.


dichotomy

dichotomy (countable and uncountable, plural dichotomies)

Audio (GA)

Audio (AU)

From Ancient Greek διχοτομία (dikhotomía, “dichotomy”).

der

(biology, taxonomy) The division of a genus into two species; a division into two subordinate parts.

dikotomi

taxonomy: division into two subordinate parts


priority

en-noun

priority (countable and uncountable, plural priorities)

/pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/

/pɹaɪˈɔɹɪti/

From Old French priorite, from Latin priōritās.
Surface analysis: prior + -ity.

Neither [Jones][…] nor I (in 1966) could conceive of reducing our "science" to the ultimate absurdity of reading Finnish newspapers almost a century and a half old in order to establish "priority."

(taxonomy, of a name) A superior claim to use by virtue of being validly published at an earlier date.


secondary

en-adj

secondary (not generally comparable, comparative more secondary, superlative most secondary)

more secondary (comparative)
most secondary (superlative)

From Middle English secundarie, from Latin secundārius (“of the second class or quality”), from secundus (whence the English second) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary), equivalent to second + -ary; compare the French secondaire, the Italian secondario, the Occitan secundari, the Portuguese secundario, and the Spanish secundario.

der

English numerals#Ordinal numbers
secondary

With the exception of a secondary loss in Dimecoenia, larvae of Ephydrini have prominent, ventral prolegs that bear crochets.

2016 May 27, Wayne M. Matthis, Luciane Marinoni, “Revision of Ephydrini Zetterstedt (Diptera: Ephydridae) from the Americas south of the United States”, in Zootaxa, volume 4116, number 1, →DOI:

(taxonomy, not comparable) Representing a reversion to an ancestral state.


basionym

Arundinaria distans is the basionym of Colanthelia distans.

(botany, taxonomy) An earlier valid scientific name of a species that has since been renamed and from which the new name is partially derived.

basiònim

an earlier name of a species that has since been given a derived name


legion

Attested (in Middle English, as legioun) around 1200, from Old French legion, from Latin legiō, legionem, from legō (“to gather, collect”); akin to legend, lecture. Doublet of León, which was borrowed from Spanish.
Generalized sense of “a large number” is due to an allusive phrase in Mark 5:9, "my name is Legion: for we are many" (KJV).

(dated, taxonomy) A group of orders inferior to a class; in scientific classification, a term occasionally used to express an assemblage of objects intermediate between an order and a class.


variety

en-noun

variety (countable and uncountable, plural varieties)

From Middle French varieté (“variety”) (modern French variété (“variety; genre, type”)) or directly from its etymon Latin varietās (“difference; diversity, variety”) + English -ty (suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives). Varietās is derived from varius (“different, diverse, various; variegated”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“to abandon; to give out; to leave”)) + -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns indicating a state of being). The English word displaced the native Old English mislīcnes.
Sense 1.3.2 (“total number of distinct states of a system; logarithm to the base 2 of the total number of distinct states of a system”) was coined by the English psychiatrist William Ross Ashby (1903–1972) in his work An Introduction to Cybernetics (1956).
cognates
* Galician variedade (“variety”)
* Italian varietà (“difference; variety”)
* Portuguese variedade (“variety”)
* Spanish variedad (“breed; variety”)

der

Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum is a variety of Capsicum annuum commonly known as chiltepin or Indian pepper.

(biology, loosely) An animal or plant (or a group of such animals or plants) with characteristics causing it to differ from other animals or plants of the same species; a strain or cultivar.

(botany, taxonomy) A rank in a taxonomic classification below species and (if present) subspecies, and above form; hence, an organism of that rank.


grade

→ Japanese: グレード (gurēdo)

→ Swahili: gredi

Borrowed from Middle French grade (“a grade, degree”), from Latin gradus (“a step, pace, degree”), from Proto-Italic *graðus, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰradʰ-, *gʰredʰ- (“to walk, go”). Doublet of gradus.
Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌹𐌸𐍃 (griþs, “step, grade”), Bavarian Gritt (“step, stride”), Lithuanian grìdiju (“to go, wander”).

(systematics) A taxon united by a level of morphological or physiological complexity that is not a clade.


specific

en-adj

specific (comparative more specific, superlative most specific)

more specific (comparative)
most specific (superlative)

From Old French specifique, from Late Latin specificus (“specific, particular”), from Latin speciēs (“kind”) + faciō (“make”).

der

Science and literature, then, are the two achievements of Homo sapiens that most convincingly justify the specific name.

2008, Richard Dawkins, The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing, Oxford, published 2009, page 3:

(bioscience, taxonomy) pertaining to a species, as a taxon or taxa at the rank of species.

específic

pertaining to a taxon at the rank of species


derived

(systematics) Of, or pertaining to, conditions unique to the descendant species of a clade, and not found in earlier ancestral species.

(comparable, archaic, taxonomy) Possessing features believed to be more advanced or improved than those other organisms.


nominal

→ Afrikaans: nominaal

From the Middle English nominalle (“of nouns”), borrowed from Latin nōminālis (“of names”), from nōmen (“name”).

Since then, a good deal of research has documented and concluded that the nominal species A. fraterculus actually comprises an unresolved complex of cryptic species.

2015 November 26, Mosè Manni et al., “Relevant genetic differentiation among Brazilian populations of Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera, Tephritidae)”, in ZooKeys, volume 540, →DOI:

(taxonomy) Of a species, the species name without consideration of whether it is a junior synonym or in reality consists of more than one biological species.


epithet

From Middle French épithète, from Latin epithetum, epitheton, from Ancient Greek ἐπίθετον (epítheton, “epithet, adjective”), the neuter of ἐπίθετος (epíthetos, “additional”), from ἐπιτίθημι (epitíthēmi, “to add on”), from ἐπι- (epi-, “in addition”) + τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put”) (suf. possibly related to title in the sense of "ascribed appellation") (from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, to do”)).

der

(taxonomy) A word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species. This applies only to formal names of plants, fungi and bacteria. In formal names of animals the corresponding term is the specific name.


typical

en-adj

typical (comparative more typical, superlative most typical)

more typical (comparative)
most typical (superlative)

From Late Latin typicalis, from Latin typicus (“typical”), from Ancient Greek τυπικός (tupikós, “of or pertaining to a type, conformable, typical”), from τύπος (túpos, “mark, impression, type”), equivalent to typic + -al and type + -ical.

der

Celticecis species are definitely known only from the typical subgenus of Celtis, distributed through much of the Holarctic Region.

2013 September 9, Raymond G. Gagné, John C. Moser, “The North American gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) of hackberries (Cannabaceae: Celtis spp.)”, in Memoirs of the American Entomological Society, volume 49:

(taxonomy) Of a lower taxon, containing the type of the higher taxon.


binomial name

(taxonomy) A scientific name at the rank of species, with two terms: a generic name and a specific name.

kaksiosainen nimi

a scientific name at the rank of species


binomial nomenclature

(taxonomy) The scientific system of naming each species of organism with a Latinized name in two parts; the first is the genus, and is written with an initial capital letter; the second is some specific epithet that distinguishes the species within the genus. By convention, the whole name is typeset in italics. The genus part is often abbreviated to its initial letter e.g. H. sapiens for Homo sapiens

ระบบการเรียกชื่อสิ่งมีชีวิตแบบทวินาม

rábòp gaan rîak chêu sìng mee cheewít bàep táwí naam


subfamily

(taxonomy) A taxonomic category ranking between a family and a genus; formerly called a tribe.


subphylum

en-noun

subphylum (plural subphylums or subphyla)

(taxonomy) A taxonomic category below phylum and above class


infra-order

(taxonomy) A taxonomic category below suborder and above superfamily.


subkingdom

(taxonomy) A taxonomic category below kingdom and above superphylum.


superphylum

(taxonomy) A taxonomic category above phylum and below subkingdom


superfamily

(taxonomy) A taxonomic category above family and below order (and its subdivisions).


taxon

taxon (plural taxa or (proscribed) taxons)

taxa (plural)
taxons (plural proscribed)

(taxonomy) A group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit.


subspecies

I believe it [the trilobite Calymene blumenbachii] has been divided into several forms, which cannot claim more than the rank of subspecies, as they pass by slight gradations into forms which no author has yet thought it right to separate from the type species.

1866, A[ndrew] C[rombie] Ramsay, “Trilobita”, in The Geology of North Wales (Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain and of the Museum of Practical Geology; [III]), London: Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office; published by Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, →OCLC, page 325:

(taxonomy) A rank in the classification of organisms, below species.

көрүҥ үөдүҥэ

körüñ üödüñe

But these slight differences will not justify us in considering the West African chiquera as a true species distinct from the Indian true chiquera; it is only a subspecies of the latter true species.

1851, [Johann Jakob] Kaup, “Descriptions of Some New Birds in the Museum of the Earl of Derby”, in Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, part XIX, London: Printed for the Society; sold at their house in Hanover Square, and by Messrs. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, Paternoster Row, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 42:

(taxonomy) A taxon at that rank, often indicated with trinomial nomenclature (such as Felis silvestris silvestris in zoology and Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii in botany).


suborder

→ Dutch: suborde

(taxonomy) A taxonomic category below order and above infraorder.


superorder

(taxonomy) A taxonomic category below subclass and above order.


infraclass

(taxonomy) A zoological classification sometimes inserted below subclass and above subterclass (rarely used) and superorder.


trivial

en-adj

trivial (comparative more trivial, superlative most trivial)

more trivial (comparative)
most trivial (superlative)

PIE word
 *tréyes
* From Latin triviālis (“appropriate to the street-corner, commonplace, vulgar”), from trivium (“place where three roads meet”). Compare trivium, trivia.
* From the distinction between trivium (“the lower division of the liberal arts; grammar, logic and rhetoric”) and quadrivium (“the higher division of the seven liberal arts in the Middle Ages, composed of geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, and music”).

der

(taxonomy) Relating to or designating the name of a species; specific as opposed to generic.

druhový

(biology) relating to, or designating a species


heterospecific

en-adj

heterospecific (comparative more heterospecific, superlative most heterospecific)

more heterospecific (comparative)
most heterospecific (superlative)

(systematics) Of or belonging to a different species.


ordo

Borrowed from Latin ōrdō. Doublet of order.

(biology, taxonomy) A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below classis and above familia.


genealogical

genealogical (comparative more genealogical, superlative most genealogical)

more genealogical (comparative)
most genealogical (superlative)

Borrowed from French généalogique + -al.

(systematics) Of the relationships among individuals within a species.


systematic

systematic (comparative more systematic, superlative most systematic)

more systematic (comparative)
most systematic (superlative)

Borrowed from Late Latin systēmaticus, from Koine Greek συστηματικός (sustēmatikós), from σύστημᾰ (sústēma, “a composite; system”) + -ῐκός (-ikós, adjective suffix). Cognate with French systématique and Italian sistematico. By surface analysis, system + -atic.

der

συστηματικός

suffix

(taxonomy) Of or relating to taxonomic classification.

sistemàtic

of, or relating to taxonomic classification


phylogenetics

Thereupon he went to Leipzig, and during the winter of 1880–81 and the following summer semester studied comparative anatomy with Leuckart, geology with Credner, and phylogenetics with Carus.

c. 1899, William Morton Wheeler, “George Baur’s Life and Writings”, in The American Naturalist, volume 33, page 16:

An especially concise introduction to molecular phylogenetics is provided by Hillis et al. (1993).
The danger of generating incorrect results is inherently greater in computational phylogenetics than in many other fields of science.

2005, Stephen Bryant, Gerard Bouffard, Bioinformatics, Wiley, page 366:

A difficult task was to review the development of the many new packages contributing to phylogenetics and evolutionary biology.

2011, Emmanuel Paradis, Analysis of Phylogenetics and Evolution with R, Springer, page vii:

(biology, systematics) The study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups of organisms, through computational methods that focus on observed heritable traits.


phylogeny

en-noun

phylogeny (countable and uncountable, plural phylogenies)

Borrowed from German Phylogenie, coined by Ernst Haeckel in 1866, a neologism created as if borrowed from a Classic Greek word φυλογένεια (phulogéneia), composed from Ancient Greek φῦλον (phûlon, “tribe, genus, species”) + Ancient Greek -γένεια (-géneia, “-geny (generation, production)”).

der

It was a bestiary more than a hundred years old, its entries organised by a quaintly outdated phylogeny and illustrated with hand-tinted plates.

2022, Paul McAuley, Beyond the Burn Line, Gollancz, page 43:

(systematics) The evolutionary history of groups of organisms, such as species or clades.

(systematics, informal) A phylogenetic diagram.


polyphyletic

en-adj

polyphyletic (comparative more polyphyletic, superlative most polyphyletic)

more polyphyletic (comparative)
most polyphyletic (superlative)

(taxonomy) Having multiple ancestral sources; referring to a taxon that does not contain the most recent common ancestor of its members.


Linnaean nomenclature

Introduced deliberately (c. 2000) by proponents of the PhyloCode as a pejorative term, to suggest age and obsolescence: a nomenclature due to be supplemented or replaced by nomenclature governed by the PhyloCode.

The current taxonomic nomenclature in biology, as governed by the ICBN, ICZN and ICNB. This nomenclature accepts the work by Linnaeus as a starting point (except for specified groups and ranks).


phylogenetic

From phylo- + genetic, from German phylogenetisch, coined by Ernst Haeckel in 1866, from Phylogenese + -isch.

To each of these subdivisions of the phylum thus differentiated the name race may appropriately be restricted, and the sum of the peculiarities of each race may be termed race-characters. This is the phylogenetic side of anthropology, and its nomenclature should be kept clearly separate from that of the ethnological side.

1893 January, Alexander Macalister, “The Study of Man”, in Popular Science Monthly, volume 42:

(systematics) Of, or relating to phylogeny or phylogenetics.


Linnaean

From Linnaeus + -an. After Carolus Linnaeus (1707–1778), Swedish naturalist who helped to standardize biological nomenclature.

(biology) Of or relating to Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish naturalist, either personally or in a wider sense, to the era influenced by him.

Nowhere was the victory of Linnaeanism more complete than in Britain. When William Hudson's Flora Anglica, organized in the Linnaean manner, appeared in 1762, it displaced all previous floras.

2000, Daniel R. Headrick, When Information Came of Age, page 26:

(taxonomy) Of or relating to the binomial nomenclature originated by him

linnéläinen

of or relating to the binomial nomenclature

Relating to the nomenclature Codes that have their starting point in a work by Linnaeus or are derived from such a Code. This includes the idea of a ranked taxonomy, which was not initiated by Linnaeus.


tricolpate

(botany, taxonomy) A plant with tricolpate (three-grooved) pollen, including any dicot.


dominion

en-noun

dominion (countable and uncountable, plural dominions)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: dominion

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: dominion

From Middle English dominion, from Middle French dominion, from Latin dominium (“lordship, right of ownership”), from dominus (“lord”), from domus (“house”). See demain, demesne, domain, dominium.


speciation

en-noun

speciation (usually uncountable, plural speciations)

In both groups, however, we find copious and intricate speciation so that, often, species limits are narrow and ill defined.

1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page 3:

No one had ever seen a new species produced, nor, according to Darwin, should they expect to. Speciation was so drawn out as to be, for all intents and purposes unobservable.

2014, Elizabeth Kolbert, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Picador, →ISBN, page 55:

(taxonomy) The process by which new distinct species evolve.


checklist

a checklist of the plants of the Guiana Shield

(taxonomy) An inventory, especially of species.


preoccupied

en-adj

preoccupied (comparative more preoccupied, superlative most preoccupied)

more preoccupied (comparative)
most preoccupied (superlative)

In 1924 J. D. Tothill revised the nearctic species in the genus Fabriciella, a name proposed by Bezzi in 1906 to replace Fabricia Rob. D. which is preoccupied.

1931, John Allen Rowe, “A revision of the males of the nearctic species in the genus Fabriciella (Tachinidae)”, in Annals of the Entomological Society of America, volume 24:

(taxonomy, not comparable) Describing a taxonomic name not available for use because it is already used for another.


circumscription

en-noun

circumscription (countable and uncountable, plural circumscriptions)

The circumscription in the APG system of the family Malvaceae includes the former families Bombacaceae, Sterculiaceae and Tiliaceae.

(taxonomy) The definition of what does and does not belong to a given taxon, from a particular taxonomic viewpoint or taxonomic system.

rajaus

taxonomy: definition of what belongs in a taxon


taxonomic system

taxonomic system (plural taxonomic systems)

(taxonomy) A coherent system of taxonomic judgements on circumscription and placement of the considered taxa. A taxonomic system is restricted to a large but limited part of the living world.


alpha taxonomy

The science of finding, describing, classifying and naming living things.


generic name

(taxonomy) The first word in a binominal name, which identifies the genus of the lifeform considered.

sukuosa

(taxonomy) first word in a binominal name, which identifies the genus of the lifeform considered — see also specific epithet


holotype

The holotype of this species is subglobular in shape and ammoniticonic in its mode of growth.

1938, A. K. Miller, Devonian Ammonoids of America, Geological Society of America, page 75:

The surface of the holotype bears seven rounded annulations which slope very slightly orad from the venter.

1942, E. O. Ulrich, Aug. F. Foerste, A. K. Miller, A. G. Unklesbay, Ozarkian and Canadian Cephalopods: Part III: Longicones and Summary, Geological Society of America, page 77:

Primary types include holotypes, lectotypes, and neotypes, while all other types (e.g., paratypes) are secondary types. A holotype is a unique, name-bearing type specimen designated by the original author. The holotype is the single individual of a species that serves as a voucher for a given species name. A holotype can be designated only by the original author and in the publication in which that author established its name.

2005, David Grimaldi, Michael S. Engel, Evolution of the Insects, Cambridge University Press, page 35:

The species to which the holotype belongs is then referred to by the name proposed by the author, at least when the same name has not previously been applied to another species.[…]If his specimen is not the same species as any of the holotypes preserved in museums, he should prepare a description of his specimen and have it published with his proposed name for the new species or give it to a specialist who is interested in doing this.

2008, Charles W. Heckman, Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Odonata - Zygoptera, Springer, page 3:

(taxonomy) The single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used to formally describe the species (or lower-order taxon), subsequently to be kept as a reference.

holotip

single physical example or illustration of an organism used to describe the taxon


cladist

The pheneticist and evolutionist classify species and genera in this manner. Not so the cladist, who deals with the unknown quantities produced by phylo-genetic splits.

1997, Ernst Mayr, Evolution and the Diversity of Life: Selected Essays, page 448:

(systematics): A biologist who studies clades, an evolutionary biologist who studies the pattern of species interrelationships according to the principles of cladistics.


phenetic

en-adj

phenetic (comparative more phenetic, superlative most phenetic)

more phenetic (comparative)
most phenetic (superlative)

From pheno- + -etic; modelled on genetic.

(systematics) Of, or relating to, phenetics.


apomorphy

(systematics) A derived characteristic of a clade. Any feature novel to a species and its descendants.


phenetics

We have seen in Chapter 6 and the previous chapters that dissatisfaction with traditional taxonomy gave rise, after the Second World War, to two distinct attempts at a remedy - phenetics and cladistics.

1992, Alec L. Panchen, Classification, Evolution, and the Nature of Biology, page 132:

Microbial systematics has enjoyed two major advances in the latter half of this century: the introductions of numerical phenetics and molecular techniques for direct comparisons of organismal genomes. Numerical phenetics (taxonomy) was very influential during the 1960s and 70s in providing the first objective approach to bacterial classification.

2000, F.G. Priest, Michael Goodfellow, Preface: Applied Microbial Systematics, page xi:

One of the most famous and fully developed arguments along these lines, was a justification for phenetics, a school of systematic thought that proposed mathematical methods for grouping organisms based on measurements of similarity (Sokal and Sneath 1963).

2001, Jody Hey, Genes, Categories, and Species: The Evolutionary and Cognitive Cause of the Species Problem, page 147:

(systematics) A form of numerical systematics in which organisms are grouped based upon the total or relative number of shared characteristics.


cladistics

From clade + -istic, from Ancient Greek κλάδος (kládos, “branch”).

Here we suggest emphasis on the techniques of cladistics (Eldredge and Cracraft 1980; Wiley 1981; Coddington 1988) because they provide a clear means of organizing phylogenetic information in branching diagrams.

1991, Warren W. Burggren, William E. Bemis, “Physiological Evolution: Paradigms and Pitfalls”, in Matthew H. Nitecki, Doris V. Nitecki, editors, Evolutionary Innovations, page 210:

The construction of branching patterns to map evolutionary change is called cladistics, and the devising of higher classifications (genus and up) to conform with the results of cladistics is called phylogenetic systematics.[…]Cladistics does allow us to judge which species are most likely to share a common ancestor, validating their placement in the same genus or family or higher taxon.

1992, Edward O. Wilson, The Diversity of Life, page 153:

2001, Clare Bates Congdon, Gaphyl: A Genetic Algorithms Approach to Cladistics, Luc de Raedt, Arno Siebes (editors), Principles of Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery: 5th European Conference PKDD 2001, Volume 5, Springer, LNAI 2168, page 67,
This research investigates the use of genetic algorithms to solve problems from cladistics — a technique used by biologists to hypothesize the relationships between organisms.

(systematics) An approach to biological systematics in which organisms are grouped based upon synapomorphies (shared derived characteristics) only, and not upon symplesiomorphies (shared ancestral characteristics).


binomen

Latin bis (“double, twice”) + nōmen (“name”).

Each type species is cited in its original binomen (Recommendation 67B of the Code, ICZN 1999α), and if that name is a synonym then it is followed by the valid name of the species in parentheses.

2020 March 5, James E. O'Hara et al., Preliminary Checklist of the Tachinidae (Diptera) of the World:

(taxonomy) A scientific name at the rank of species, with two terms: a generic name and a specific name.


binominal

(taxonomy) pertaining to the noun binomen

The principle of binominal nomenclature is important in the ICZN.

(taxonomy) pertaining to the nomenclature system for the rank of species in biological taxonomy


binominal

See species name for usage and example.

(taxonomy) A scientific name, at the rank of species, with two terms: a generic name and a specific name.


subtribe

Brieger and his associates first divide the subtribe Epidendrinae […] into what could be called series, distinguishing four such series in the subtribe.

1993, Carl L. Withner, The Cattleyas and Their Relatives: A Book in Six Parts:

(taxonomy) A taxonomic category ranking below tribe.


couplet

From French couplet, from couple + -et. Doublet of cabaletta.

The dichotomous keys are constructed so that each couplet presents a set of alternative choices.

2001, Stephen T. Ross, The Inland Fishes of Mississippi, page 33:

As long as the correct statement of each couplet is chosen, and the unknown organism is included in the key, a confident identification is usually achieved.

2004, Shin'ichiro Ishikawa, An Exploration of a New Poetic Expression Beyond Dichotomy:

(taxonomy) A pair of two mutually exclusive choices in a dichotomous key.


parvorder

(taxonomy) A specific taxonomic category above superfamily and below infraorder.


monospecific

monospecific (comparative more monospecific, superlative most monospecific)

more monospecific (comparative)
most monospecific (superlative)

(taxonomy, Of a genus) containing only one known species.


abstract term

(taxonomy) A name for an order, genera, or species of things in which there is a combination of similar qualities.


regnum

From Latin rēgnum (“kingdom”). Doublet of reign.

(biology, taxonomy) A rank in the classification of organisms, below dominium and above divisio.


familial

From French familial (“relating to a family; familial”), from Latin familia (“family (in the sense of the slaves working for a household); household”) (from famulus (“servant; slave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁-m-eló-, from *dʰeh₁- (“to do, place, put”)) + French -al (adjective-forming suffix) (from Latin -ālis, from Proto-Indo-European *-li-). Doublet of familiar.

der

Having milky latex is a familial characteristic of Apocynaceae.

(taxonomy) Pertaining to a taxon at the rank of family.


cline

John Ramsbottom (mycologist)
Julian Huxley
cline

From Ancient Greek κλῑ́νω (klī́nō, “to lean, incline”). Introduced by English evolutionary biologist and eugenicist Julian Huxley in 1938 after British mycologist John Ramsbottom suggested the term.

2000 Michael J. O'Brien and R. Lee Lyman: Applying Evolutionary Archaeology →ISBN
[A cline is a] character gradient, wherein a character such as length increases or decreases gradually and continuously. A cline distributed over geographic space is a "chorocline"; a cline distributed over time is a "chronocline." Compare with chorospecies and chronospecies. . .
Simpson termed the change through time a "chronocline", where a cline represents a character gradient. A chunk of a chronocline comprises a chronospecies. The difficulty with identifying a chronospecies resides, then, in first identifying a chronocline, or temporal gradient in a character or attribute. As pointed out by Kevin Padian, some characters "change more or less uniformly through time, but others change not at all, and still others vacillate with no clear trend. This is ... one reason to be suspicious of the evolutionary utility of clines: no criterion for identifying a cline seems to be in force. A cline is simply a gradient in character state along a continuum, and it may be broken, temporarily reversed, or stepped. Furthermore, there is no criterion for a cline's magnitude and no control on its probability."

2002 The Future of Evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Recent studies have shown that invaders can rapidly adapt to the new environments in which they find themselves. Huey et al. demonstrated how an introduction of a new fruit fly into the west coast of North America resulted in the evolution, in only 20 years, of an apparently adaptive cline related to wing size, throughout the vast new latitudinal range extending from southern California to British Columbia. The cline that developed in North American female flies was similar to that found in the European native populations. Interestingly, the developmental basis for the cline of wing size was different in Europe than for the invader in North America, although the functional result was the same, providing additional evidence for the adaptive advantage of this set of traits.

2012 Donald W. Linzey. Vertebrate biology →ISBN
Subspecies of the song sparrow form a cline in body size, plumage coloration, and song characteristics. There is a dramatic difference in appearance between the small, pale Melospiza melodia saltonis subspecies of the southwestern desert region and the large, dark Aleutian subspecies, M. m. maxima. It seems unlikely that the desert-dwelling subspecies saltonis would easily breed with the large Alaskan subspecies maxima, even if the ranges of the two subspecies were to overlap in the future. If some catastrophe completely eliminated the central west coast populations of the song sparrow, the northern and southern ends of the cline would likely become two distinct species of sparrow.
Equus quagga is an extinct southern African mammal that resembled a zebra. . . Some observers considered it to be most closely related to the horse based on analyses of mainly cranial characters. Others thought it was a distinct species of zebra . . . Still others felt it was merely the southern end of a cline and a subspecies of the plains zebra. Both DNA and protein analyses of samples from quagga skin confirmed that it was, indeed, related to the plains zebra.
The deme is the ultimate systematic unit of species in nature. In some cases, a deme may correspond to a subspecies, but it is almost always a decidedly smaller group. Demes do not enter into classification, because they do not have long-continuing evolutionary roles and because adjacent demes often have no observable differentiation.
Demes often differ from one another in a geographic series of gradual changes. A gradual geographic shift in any one genetically controlled trait is known as a character cline. A series of samples from along a cline reveals a gradual shift in a particular character like body size, tail length, number of scales, or even intensity of coloration. Because such situations add to the difficulty of deciding the true phylogenetic relationships of populations, the experience and judgment of the systematist play an important role.

(systematics, evolution, biogeography) A gradation in a character or phenotype within a species, deme, or other systematic group.

systematics; evolution; systematics; evolution


specific epithet

en-noun

specific epithet (plural specific epithets)

(taxonomy) The second (uncapitalized) word in the scientific name of a species, following the name of the genus.

種名

(taxonomy) second word in the scientific name of a species


parvclass

(taxonomy) A taxonomic category below infraclass and above order.


taxonomist

Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.

1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:

(taxonomy) Someone whose profession is taxonomy, or who performs taxonomy at a professional level.


plesiomorphy

(cladistics) A character state that is present in both outgroups and in the ancestors


infraspecific

(taxonomy) pertaining to a taxon at a rank lower than species, such as subspecies (in certain kingdoms only), strains, and varieties.


subspecific

(taxonomy) pertaining to a subspecies. (See Usage notes.)

(taxonomy) infraspecific. (See Usage notes.)


suprageneric

(taxonomy) Pertaining to a taxon at a rank above that of genus.


subspecific epithet

subspecific epithet (plural subspecific epithets)

(taxonomy) The third word in the scientific name of a subspecies, following the name of the species, but only in names of bacteria, plants and fungi. It is not used in formal names of animals.


polytypic

en-adj

polytypic (comparative more polytypic, superlative most polytypic)

more polytypic (comparative)
most polytypic (superlative)

From Ancient Greek πολῠ- (polu-) + τῠπῐκός (tupikós). By surface analysis, poly- + type + -ic.

(taxonomy) having several different taxa of the next lower rank, especially having several subspecies


infraphylum

(taxonomy) A taxon below subphylum and above superclass.


superclass

(taxonomy) A taxon ranking below a phylum and above a class.


speciose

speciose (comparative more speciose, superlative most speciose)

more speciose (comparative)
most speciose (superlative)

1991, David M. Raup, Extinction: Bad genes or bad luck?, W. W. Norton and Company, pp 55-56,
The most speciose living mammal genus (a small insectivore) has about 160 species.

(taxonomy) Rich in species, such as when many species are members of a single genus.


speciation event

en-noun

speciation event (plural speciation events)

(taxonomy) a moment when the evolutional lineage splits, starting history of a new species.


cladogram

Hard though it may seem to associate avian elegance with cumbersome and ferocious behemoths this was the story told by the cladograms, revealed by interpreting the bones of the famous old bird Archaeopteryx unfettered by preconceived notions.

2000, Richard Fortey, “No Such Thing as a Fish”, in London Review of Books, volume 22, number 13:

(taxonomy) A branching treelike graphical representation of the phylogenetic relationships between organisms showing which taxa have branched from common ancestors.


form class

All fungi for which sexual reproduction is unknown are assigned to the form class Deuteromycota until such reproduction is discovered in that species.

(taxonomy) A collection of organisms that is given formal recognition at the rank of class with a taxonomic name, but which is known to be an artificial group rather than a natural one.


form genus

All fossilized roots of scale trees are assigned to the form genus 'Stigmaria'.

(taxonomy) A collection of organisms that is given formal recognition at the rank of genus with a taxonomic name, but which is known to be an artificial group rather than a natural one.


form taxon

All fossilized roots of scale trees are assigned to the form taxon 'Stigmaria'.

(taxonomy) A collection of organisms that is given formal recognition at some rank with a taxonomic name, but which is known to be a grouping based on similar morphological characteristics, rather than more extensive biological similarity.


classis

Borrowed from Latin classis. Doublet of class.

(biology, taxonomy) A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below divisio and above ordo.


autapomorphy

In their article, these authors gave a full description of the specimen and concluded that the species was not only lacking several characteristics typical for the genus Gonocephalus but presented additional characters that would justify the removal of G. mjobergi from Gonocephalus.They abstained from naming a new genus based on autapomorphies, given that this would be of no phylogenetic relevance and limited taxonomic use, and deferred a decision until more material became available for study.

2023, Wolfgang Denzer, Hinrich Kaiser, “Naming And Gaming: The Illicit Taxonomic Practice Of 'Nomenclatural Harvesting' And How To Avoid It”, in Journal of Zoology, volume 320, number 3, page 164:

(cladistics) A derived trait that is unique to a particular taxon


synapomorphy

plesiomorphy

antonym(s) of “derived trait that is shared”

Another supposed synapomorphy of Rhamporhynchidae + Pterodactyloidea presented by Unwin (1995) is the subequal length of metacarpals I–III. In all non-pterodactyloid specimens where this region is known metacarpals I–III are about the same length. Therefore this feature cannot be used as a synapomorphy of Rhamporhynchidae + Pterodactyloidea.

2003, Eric Buffetaut, Jean-Michel Mazin, Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs, page 117:

A “synapomorphy” for a group then amounts to a state change in a character along the corresponding branch; some synapomorphies may be ambiguous when optimization is ambiguous and multiple MPRs exist.

2022, Pablo A. Goloboff, From Observations to Optimal Phylogenetic Trees: Phylogenetic Analysis of Morphological Data, Vol. 1:

(cladistics) A derived trait that is shared by two or more taxa of shared ancestry.


sharklike

en-adj

sharklike (comparative more sharklike, superlative most sharklike)

more sharklike (comparative)
most sharklike (superlative)


infrakingdom

(taxonomy) A taxonomic category sometimes inserted below subkingdom.


binominal name

See species name for usage and example.

(taxonomy) A scientific name at the rank of species, with two terms: a generic name and a specific name.


ternary name

Homo sapiens sapiens
Homo sapiens sapiens#Translingual

(taxonomy, zoology) A scientific name at the rank of subspecies: an expansion of a binomial name (a genus and a species) combined with the name of the subspecies; for example Homo sapiens sapiens.


ichnotaxon

Ichnotaxa are names used to identify and distinguish morphologically distinctive ichnofossils, more commonly known as trace fossils. The binomial names of ichnospecies and their genera are to be written in italics.

It is important to note here that exactly the same ichnotaxon co-occurs with phosphatized soft-tissues in schizodont bivalves of the same age (Klug et al., 2005).

2007, Christian Klug et al., “10: Soft-tissue Attachment of Middle Triassic Ceratitida from Germany”, in Neil H. Landman, Richard Arnold Davis, Royal H. Mapes, editors, Cephalopods Present and Past, Springer, page 208:

Parallel to the osteological record of phytosaurs, the ichnotaxon Apatopus lineatus reflects a widespread group of archosaurs living in habitats that only randomly overlapped those of fully terrestrial chirotherian trackmakers.

2013, Hendrik Klein, Spencer G. Lucas, “The Late Triassic tetrapod ichnotaxon Apatopus lineatus (Bock 1952) and its distribution”, in Lawrence H. Tanner, Justin A. Spielmann, Spencer G. Lucas, editors, The Triassic System, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, page 313:

In a note, Donovan (2015) cast doubt on the establishment of the ichnotaxon K. crusta by Klompmaker et al. (2014) for the branchial swellings exemplified in Figure 1.

2015, Adiël A. Klompmaker, Geoff A. Boxshall, “6: Fossil Crustaceans as Parasites and Hosts”, in Tim Littlewood, Kenneth De Baets, editors, Fossil Parasites, Elsevier (Academic Press), page 242:

(taxonomy) A grouping, analogous to a biological taxon, used to classify footprints, burrows or other trace fossils, and hence, indirectly, the organisms that might have produced them.


species name

(taxonomy) A scientific name at the rank of species, with two terms: the generic name (or generic epithet, the genus of the species) and the specific name (a term used only in zoology, never in botany, for the second part of a binomial) or the specific epithet (the term always used in botany, which can also be used in zoology).

Every animal that has been described by scientists has a scientific name, which consists of both a genus and species name. [...] The genus name is capitalized and given first, and the species name is given next [...]

1983, Richard E. White, Peterson Field Guides: Beetles. A Field Guide to the Beetles of North America, page 54:

According to this system, each organism, whether plant or animal, bears two names : the first is generic name and second is the species name. [...] For example, the scientific name of modern man is Homo sapiens sapiens, where Homo is the generic name, and sapiens is the species name.

2006, V.B. Rastogi, B. Kishore, A Complete Course in ISC Biology. Vol I for Class XI, Unit II p. 7:

(taxonomy) specific epithet, species epithet, specific name


describer

(taxonomy) A person who scientifically describes a new taxon.


synonymum

From Czech synonymum / Slovak synonymum.

This was introduced as a synonymum for Zeiller’s L. dichotomum (1880, 1886/8), which according to the later Arber’s discussions (see also Crookall 1929) is not identical with the L. dichotomum Stbg.

1950, Bulletin international: Classe des sciences mathématiques, naturelles et de la médecine, Česká akademie věd a umění, page 38:

Herpetocypris palpiger A. G. Lowndes 1923 is a synonymum for Herpetocypris chevreuxi G. O. Sars 1869.

1952, Zoologické a Entomologické Listy, page 114:

The specimens were determined originally as Romeria gracilis, but according to Geitler (1932) and Komárek (1958) it is a synonymum for Romeria elegans, as its dimmensions^([sic]) lie within the range known for R. elegans.

1964, Sbornik: Scientific papers. Technology of water. Oddil technologie vody, page 515:

The term labor pains is being commonly used as a synonymum for the expulsive contractions of the uterine muscles.

1967, Acta universitatis palackianae olomucensis, page 165:

In this sense, the effective development is a synonymum for optimum development.

It is a synonymum for the term of antisaprobity (B. & Z. CYRUS, 1947) with a completed definition.

1973, Ergebnisse der Limnologie, page 102:

Exactly the above mentioned terms “other pressure” or “advantages of any kind” constitute the synonymums for the ideological subversion by imperialism of the socialist countries.

Obviously on the basis of this assumption, Popescu-Gorj et al. (1958) consider S. ortalidiformis Led. a synonymum for Ch. annellata f. oxybeliformis (H.-S.).

1983, Acta Universitatis Agriculturae: Facultas Agronomica, Vysoká škola zemědělská, page 211:

Antitoxin is (a) the snake venom (b) an antibody (c) a viral product (d) a synonymum for toxoid

1983, Acta Universitatis Carolinae: Medica, Universita Karlova, page 207:

The fact that linear spaces are infinite sets is not too important here permutation is then a synonymum for the bijection.

1983, Czechoslovak Journal of Physics, page 728:

When speaking about edges, we use a notation (x, y) to be a synonymum for {x, y}.

1985, Annual Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science: STACS, page 199:

This then is the place to introduce methodological concepts of statistics into the vocabulary of inductive logic, i.e. to define in it concepts like “empirical means (of a sample)”, “empirical variance (of a sample)”, “empirical dispersion (of a sample)”, “true mean (of the population)” (being a synonymum for “degree of uniformity”), “true variance (of the population)”, “true dispersion (of the population)” etc., as well as the most important methodological concepts “amount of confidence probability”, “confidence interval” and “length of the confidence interval” (being a synonymum for “unexactness of the estimation”.

1986, Atti del Congresso logica e filosofia della scienza, oggi: Epistemologia e logica induttiva, page 85:

The concept of personality was treated primitively by them — as a “great man“, or it was taken as a synonymum for the terms “person” or “individual”.

1991, Sborník prací Filosofické fakulty brněnské university: Řada historická. C, page 132:

Despite that Crosskey (1986) and Zwick ( 1995 ) consider them a synonymum for reptans along with the stress referring to its variability (Niesiolowski 1987) and electrophoretic indistinguishability, Knoz (pers. com.) considers the Central European populations of reptans and galeratum as different.

1992, Acta Zoologica Universitatis Comenianae, Univerzita Komenského, page 58:

In this connection we must stress that „vegetative rapprochement“ belongs to Lysenko's terminology as a synonymum for „vegetative hybridisation“.

2004, Anna Matalová, Jiří Sekerák, Genetics Behind the Iron Curtain: Its Repudiation and Reinstitualisation in Czechoslovakia, page 18:


monophyletic

(biology) Deriving from a single clade (monophylum).


trinomen

The subspecies (trinomen) is the only infraspecific taxon so recognized by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature... However, the category of subspecies has not been widely used in entomology, because, in most cases, the level of population differentiation within a species is not clearly determined and subspecies populations are difficult to identify.

1993 May 10, Ke Chung Kim, Bruce A. McPheron, Evolution of Insect Pests: Patterns of Variation, John Wiley, →ISBN, page 458:

(taxonomy, zoology) A scientific name at the rank of subspecies: an expansion of a binomial name (a genus and a species) combined with the name of the subspecies; for example Anopheles gigas formosus or Homo sapiens sapiens.


plesiomorphic

plesiomorphic (comparative more plesiomorphic, superlative most plesiomorphic)

more plesiomorphic (comparative)
most plesiomorphic (superlative)

[T]he cockroach Polyphaga may represent a condition more plesiomorphic than in other Dictyoptera, but it could as well be paedomorphic, and therefore more derived than in other Dictyoptera [72].

2000, Christine A. Nalepa, Claudio Bandi, “Paedomorphosis and Termite Evolution”, in Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses, Ecology, →ISBN, page 68:

(cladistics) Sharing a character state with an ancestral clade; primitive.


clonotype

(taxonomy) A herbarium specimen made from plants vegetatively propagated from (and thus clones of) the same plant from which a type specimen was made


common name

From the point of view of biology, a bird has both a scientific name and a common name.

2016, James Lambert, “Ornithonymy and Lexicographical Selection Criteria”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 30, number 1, pages 39–62:

(taxonomy) The name by which an organism or group of organisms is known to the general public, rather than its taxonomic or scientific name.

俗名

a name by which an organism is known to the general public


quasispecies

(taxonomy) A group of organisms once (but no longer) thought to be a separate species (and sometimes given such a name)


quinarianism

(taxonomy) The quinary system of classification, which states that each taxon comprises exactly five subtaxa.


quinarian

(taxonomy) Describing a system of classification based on the quinary system


allotype

2007, Ivana Karanovic, Candoninae (Ostracoda) from the Pilbara Region in Western Australia, Koninklijke Brill, page 182,
The allotype female has one T2 deformed (fig. 75D), while the other one is normally developed.

(zoology, taxonomy) A designated paratype of a species (or lower-order taxon) that is the opposite sex of the holotype.

alótipo

specimen that exemplifies the opposite sex of the holotype


subtaxon

(taxonomy) One of the elements within a taxon.


binary name

The binary name for human is Homo sapiens.

(taxonomy) The scientific name for an organism consisting of its genus and species.


divisio

From Latin dīvīsiō (“division”). Doublet of division.

(biology, taxonomy) A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below regnum and above classis.


tribus

The entire Tenebrionid fauna of this region is constituted by genera or tribuses whose present area of distribution is of the pattern called by Mayr "pan tropical" and by Vandel "gondwanian".

1963, Proceedings of the International Congress of Zoology, page 207:

It might therefore be justified to separate them from the remaining genera of the subfamily Lithosinae as a tribus with two subtribus, or as two tribus.

1965, A Revision of the West African Eilemic Moths, Based on the Male Genitalia, page 9:

In this Flora distinctly sarcodimitic species are allowed in two tribus, viz. Xeruleae and Myceneae.

1990, C[ornelis] Bas, “Tricholomataceae R.Heim ex Pouz”, in Flora Agaricina Neerlandica: Critical monographs on families of agarics and boleti occurring in the Netherlands, volume 2, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 66:


monotypic

Much more diffuse affinities occur to the Australasian monotypic Goebeliellaceae.

1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page 4:

(taxonomy) Relating to or exhibiting monotypy.


apomorphic

apomorphic (comparative more apomorphic, superlative most apomorphic)

more apomorphic (comparative)
most apomorphic (superlative)

The possession of cilia is an apomorphic trait of this family.

(taxonomy, of a characteristic) Distinguishing an organism or taxon from others that share the same ancestor

apomórfico

distinguishing an organism or taxon from others that share the same ancestor

The genus is highly apomorphic.

(taxonomy, of a taxon) Distinguished by such characteristics


type species

The type species [of genus Esox] is E. lucius, the northern pike. The species of this genus are known as the pike. (Wikipedia article on Esox)

(taxonomy) A species which has been designated as typical of a genus, and is chosen as the species according to which the genus is named.


type collection

en-noun

type collection (plural type collections)

(taxonomy) A collection from which the original concept of a taxonomic group was described.


differentia

/dɪfəˈɹɛnʃɪə/

From Latin differentia. Doublet of difference.

That character, it seems to me, should be regarded as the practically important differentia of religion for our purpose; and just what it is can easily be brought out by comparing the mind of an abstractly conceived Christian with that of a moralist similarly conceived.

1902, William James, “Lecture II: Circumscription of the Topic”, in The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature […] , New York, N.Y.; London: Longmans, Green, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 45:

If genera are different and co-ordinate, their differentiae are themselves different in kind. Take as an instance the genus ‘animal’ and the genus ‘knowledge’. ‘With feet’, ‘two-footed’, ‘winged’, ‘aquatic’, are differentiae of ‘animal’; the species of knowledge are not distinguished by the same differentiae.

1928, E. M. Edghill, Categories, translation of original by Aristotle:

In the case of a word like “surfboard,” the differentiae seem pretty clear. How is this board different from all other boards?

2017, Kory Stamper, Word By Word, Vintage, published 2018, page 116:

(logic, semantics, taxonomy) A distinguishing feature which marks a species off from other members of the same genus.


aggregate species

aggregate species (plural aggregate species)

(taxonomy) A grouping of closely-related species that are treated like a single species for practical purposes.


stirp

(systematics) A line descending from a single extant ancestor, a lineage descending from a supergenerative species.


subgenus

subgenus (plural subgenera or subgenuses)


paraphyletic

From para- (“near”) + Ancient Greek φῦλον (phûlon, “tribe, race”) + -etic.

uder

(systematics) Of a defined group of taxa: not including all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of all members.

parafilètic

Excluding some descendants of the most recent common ancestor


isotype

(botany, taxonomy) A duplicate specimen of the holotype, from the same genetic individual.


autonym

(taxonomy) An infraspecific name in which the specific epithet is repeated.


autapomorphic

en-adj

autapomorphic (comparative more autapomorphic, superlative most autapomorphic)

more autapomorphic (comparative)
most autapomorphic (superlative)

(systematics) Describing any characteristic that has evolved in only a single species (or other taxon)


Java man

en-noun

Java man (countable and uncountable, plural Java men)

From the fossils, which were found on the Indonesian island of Java.

Pithecanthropus erectus
Pithecanthropus erectus#Translingual

(taxonomy) A purported species of primate, a supposed ancient ancestor of human beings, named Pithecanthropus erectus, now considered Homo erectus.


speciate

en-verb

speciate (third-person singular simple present speciates, present participle speciating, simple past and past participle speciated)

speciates (present singular third-person)
speciating (participle present)
speciated (participle past)
speciated (past)

(taxonomy) To form new biological species by the division of an existing one


paraphyly

(systematics) The condition of being paraphyletic


polynomic

en-adj

polynomic (comparative more polynomic, superlative most polynomic)

more polynomic (comparative)
most polynomic (superlative)


hypodigm

Coined in 1940 by George Gaylord Simpson, Types in Modern Taxonomy, published in American Journal of Science #238, p. 418.

(taxonomy, anthropology) A sample from which the characters of a population are to be inferred.


homospecific

(systematics) Of, or belonging to the same species


barcoding

(taxonomy) A taxonomic method that uses a short genetic marker in an organism's DNA to identify it as belonging to a particular species.


monophyly

All of these studies have presupposed acanthodian monophyly and stereotyped acanthodian endoskeletal morphology on Acanthodes, the latest-occurring, and a highly apomorphic genus.

2009 January 15, Martin D. Brazeau, “The braincase and jaws of a Devonian 'acanthodian' and modern gnathostome origins”, Nature Volume 457 No. 7227, doi:10.1038/nature07436

(systematics) In cladistics, the condition of being monophyletic, of including all descendants from a given ancestral species.


outgroup

A cladistic analysis of 45 ingroup and two outgroup taxa was performed on the basis of 134 characters.

To study the genetic relationships among diphyllobothroid tapeworms, other members of the Diphyllobothriidae are considered, with T. solium as the outgroup.

2012, Dongyou Liu, Molecular Detection of Human Parasitic Pathogens, page 293:

(systematics) In cladistics, all the taxa included in a study that do not belong to the ingroup that is of immediate interest.


ingroup

(systematics) In cladistics, the monophyletic group that includes all taxa of interest to the current study.


monophyletic group

en-noun

monophyletic group (plural monophyletic groups)


monophylum

(taxonomy) A hierarchical group of organisms including an ancestor species and all its descendants


paraphylum

(taxonomy) A member of a paraphyletic group of taxa


paratype

The paratype of this species proves to have an ovipositor very different from that of the holotype (see dissimilis, new species).

1942, Alan Stone, “The Fruitflies of the Genus Anastrepha”, in Miscellaneous Publication, US Department of Agriculture, 439, page 44:

1965, James A. G. Rehn, A New Genus of Symbiotic Cockroach from Southwest Africa (Orthoptera; Blattaria; Oxyhaloinae), Notulae Naturae, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, page 6,
An adult female paratype will be sent to the Transvaal Museum (at Dr. Kohls' request) and a similar one to the United States National Museum. The remainder are in the collection of this Academy. All were taken with the type and allotype.

In addition to the holotype, other specimens believed to be of the same species by the author are designated as paratypes. If a holotype is not available, a paratype can be examined to confirm identifications.

2008, Charles W. Heckman, Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Odonata - Zygoptera, Springer, page 3:

(taxonomy) A physical specimen (or an illustration) that is not the holotype but is considered the same taxon by the author of the holotype.


wastebasket taxon

wastebasket taxon (plural wastebasket taxa)

Extinct forms like Dimetrodon and Velociraptor are grouped with their living relatives. Therefore, the wastebasket taxon Reptilia is replaced by the clades Diapsida and Synapsida, and birds are classified as dinosaurs.

2011, Matt Cartmill, Fred H. Smith, The Human Lineage, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN:

(informal) A taxon that exists only to classify organisms that do not fit anywhere else, being either paraphyletic or polyphyletic and therefore not considered valid under modern rules of taxonomy.


polytomy

(taxonomy) A section of a phylogeny in which the evolutionary relationships cannot be fully resolved to dichotomies


regnal

From Medieval Latin rēgnālis, from Latin rēgnum + -ālis.

(biology, taxonomy) Pertaining to a taxon at the rank of regnum (or kingdom).


polyphyly

(taxonomy) The condition of being polyphyletic


subclade

(biology, taxonomy) A clade that is included in another clade.


LUCA

Luca is now usually placed deep underground, in a fissure in hot igneous rocks, where she fed on sulphur, iron, hydrogen and carbon.

1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Perennial, published 2000, page 19:

It was around 2.9 billion years ago that LUCA split into the three domains of life: the single-celled bacteria and archaea, and the more complex eukaryotes that gave rise to animals and plants[…].

2011 November 26, Michael Marshall, “Our ancestor, the mega-organism”, in New Scientist, page 8:

last universal common ancestor
w:en:last universal common ancestor

(taxonomy, biology, paleontology) Initialism of last universal common ancestor; the hypothesised most recent primordial organism that is an ancestor to all organisms now living.

viimeinen universaali esivanhempi

hypothesised last common ancestor to all organisms


genogroup

(taxonomy) A group of related viruses within a genus


bigeneric

(taxonomy) Describing a taxonomic group containing only two genera.


biphyletic

(systematics) descended or evolved from a common ancestor in two separate branches


topotypical

(taxonomy, geology) Collected from the type locality.


type locality

(taxonomy) The location where a nomenclatural or name-bearing type was collected.


autapomorph

(cladistics) An organism that possesses a derived trait that is unique to a particular taxon.


neotype

(taxonomy) A new specimen of a previously described species which, in order to maintain nomenclatural stability or solve doubtful or confusing identities, is designated to serve as the type specimen, possibly replacing a previous holotype or neotype

ネオタイプ

A new specimen designated instead of lost or problematic type


topotype

(taxonomy) A specimen from the type locality.


nomen ambiguum

(taxonomy) A name which has lost the ability to clearly identify a species because it has regularly been used by different authors to identify different species.


syntype

Noting two syntypes of hoplomystax with 1 instead of 2 midventral scales posterior to the origin of the pelvics, and the unusual color of S. abbotti, Dr. Bohlke kindly sent these fishes on loan.

1965 September, John E. Randall, “A Redescription of Sparisoma Atomarium (Poey), a Valid West Indian Parrotfish”, in Notulae Naturae, Academy of Natural Sciences, page 7:

1999, Raina L. Takumi, A Systematic Review of the Ectemnius (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) of Hawaii, University of California Publications in Entomology, Volume 118, University of California Press, page 49,
Of the specimens examined, 38 (20♂, 18♀) were collected by Perkins prior to 1899 and are possible syntypes.

One ♂ syntype is in the Zoological Museum, Berlin [ZMB 17714] – see Moritz & Fischer (1981).

2000, Jane B. Walker, James E. Keirans, Ivan G. Horak, The Genus Rhipicephalus (Acari, Ixodidae): A Guide to the Brown Ticks of the World, Cambridge University Press, page 26:

(taxonomy) Any one of two or more specimens specified in the description of a species (or lower-order taxon), where no specimen has been designated as holotype.


subcohort

(taxonomy) A taxonomic grouping below cohort.


plesiomorph

(taxonomy) An organism which represents a primitive state of evolution relative to another organism.


dominium

dominium (countable and uncountable, plural dominiums)

The MC was composed of agents from different separated Dominium like Bacteria (Lactobacillum) and Eukaria (yeast).

2012, Eduardo N. Esteban, Mirentxu Indart, Silvia Cerone, G. de Yaniz, Ana G. Inza, Herminia Landi, Silvina Mogni, Marcela Juliarena, Leticia Igarza, “Production and Biochemestry - Molecular Analysis of Microbial Community Fermenting Whey as a Potential Probiotic for Use Animals”, in Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine, volume 2, number 3, →DOI, page 104:

Extremophilic organisms may be located in all the three dominia and include prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells.

2013, Sara Carillo, phD Thesis in Chemical Sciences: XXV cycle: Extremophile bacteria glycolipids: structure and biological activity, University of Naples “Federico II”: Faculty of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences, page 3:

Several aerobic and anaerobic, thermophilic, microorganisms belonging to the Eubacteria and Archaea dominia were isolated from thermal springs of the Eolian Islands.

2004, Extremophiles 2004: 5th International Conference on Extremophiles, Washington, USA: American Society for Microbiology, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 82:

(biology, taxonomy) The highest category in the classification of organisms, ranking above regnum.


lectotype

From Ancient Greek λέκτος (léktos, “chosen”),from λέγειν (légein, “to choose”) + τύπος (túpos, “blow, impression”).

Where the original diagnosis is without illustrations or is accompanied by figues based on two or more specimens, the first subsequent author is at liberty to select from these cotypes a type for the old species, adhering, as far as can be ascertained to the intention of the original author. Such a type speciment is to be designated as a lectotype...

1905, George P. Merrill, Bulletin of the United States National Museum, Vol. 53, page 12:

The lectotype and paratype, which are before me, are both iron-stained, predominantly internal composite molds of left valves in a fine-grained, white quartzite matrix.

1968, Arcie Lee McAlester, “Type Species of Paleozoic Nuculoid Bivalve Genera”, in Memoir, Geological Society of America, 105, page 19:

Lectotype designation is justified under article 74.1.1 of the ICZN (1999) in order to fix the status of this specimen as the sole name-bearing type of this species.

2000, Scientific Papers, Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, page 27:

(taxonomy) A biological specimen or illustration later selected to serve as definitive type example of a species or subspecies when the original author of the name did not designate a holotype.


protologue

/ˈpɹəʊtəʊlɒɡ/

/ˈpɹəʊtəlɒɡ/

From Ancient Greek πρωτολόγος (prōtológos, “speaking first”).

bor

This is important, since the brief protologus of A. flava published in the Edinburgh Catalogus included only the first four lines from Solander’s original manuscript (our translation of Solander’s protologue: “calyx ovate, half the length of the upper petal claws, blade cordate-subrotund, stamens curved”) and therefore was incomplete and is inadequate for typification.

1987 July, Frederick Gustav Meyer, James W. Hardin, “Status of the name Aesculus flava Solander (Hippocastanaceae)” (pages 335–341), in S. A. Spongberg, E. B. Schmidt, P. S. Ashton, K. S. Bawa, P. F. Stevens, C. E. Wood, Jr., editors, Journal of the Arnold Arboretum, volume 68, number 3, Lawrence: Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, →ISSN, →JSTOR, pages 338–339:

(taxonomy) All the original material associated with a newly published name, comprising its description or diagnosis and any of a number of other elements such as illustrations, synonymy, etc.

protoloog

taxonomy: all the original material associated with a newly published name


biosystematics

(biology, taxonomy) taxonomy based upon statistical data of the evolution of organisms


infrageneric

From infra- + generic (“relating to a genus”).

prefix

(taxonomy) Pertaining to division or subclassification within a biological genus of organisms


subregnum

en-noun

subregnum (plural subregnums or subregna)


superregnum

superregnum (plural superregnums or superregna)

superregnums (plural)
superregna (plural)

From Latin above and rēgnum (“kingdom”).

(biology, taxonomy) A rank in the classification of organisms: a superkingdom or domain.


subrace

“The people in the south treat the northeast as a subrace of Brazilians,” said Roberto Quiñiero, who owns a small food market in Pedreiras.

2009 May 18, Alexei Barrionuevo, “Little Relief Expected for Flood-Ravaged Brazil”, in New York Times:

(taxonomy) A secondary or subsidiary race.


monogeneric

(taxonomy) Containing only one known genus.


paucispecific

(chiefly taxonomy) Having or composed of few species.


genus name

(taxonomy) The scientific name of a genus, which is always capitalized; the generic name or generic epithet.


epifamily

(taxonomy) A rank between family and superfamily.