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Monotypic
 
 
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In biology, a monotype is a taxonomic
Alpha taxonomy

Alpha taxonomy is the science of finding, describing and categorising organisms, thus leading to the recognition of proposed taxonomic groups, or taxon , which may then be naming conventions....
 group with only one type
Biological type

In biology, a type is that which fixes a name to a taxon. Depending on the Nomenclature Codes which is applied to the organism in question, a type may be a specimen, culture, illustration, description or taxon....
:

In botany
Botany

Botany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the Scientific method of plant life and development....
, a monotype is a taxon
Taxon

A taxon or taxonomic unit is a name designating an organism or a group of organisms. In biological nomenclature according to Carl Linnaeus, a taxon is assigned a taxonomic rank and can be placed at a particular level in a systematic hierarchy reflecting evolutionary relationships....
 that has only one species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
: Ginkgo
Ginkgo

Ginkgo , frequently misspelled as "Gingko", and also known as the Maidenhair Tree after Adiantum, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives....
 is a monotypic genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, while Ginkgoaceae
Ginkgoaceae

The Ginkgoaceae is a family of gymnosperms which appeared during the Mesozoic Era, of which the only extant representative is Ginkgo biloba, which is for this reason sometimes regarded as a living fossil....
 is a monotypic family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
. The phrase is not accurate in cases where a species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 includes more than a single type; some species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 may include several subspecies
Subspecies

In biology, subspecies is the taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a species. A subspecies is a taxonomic group which is less distinct than the Common descent or species from which it originates....
 (or other infraspecific taxa) each of which will have a type. A more accurate term in those cases is unispecific.
An example is the family Cephalotaceae, with only one species: Cephalotus follicularis, the Albany Pitcher Plant.


In zoology
Zoology

Zoology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of animals. The most common pronunciation of "zoology" is ; however, an alternative pronunciation is ....
, a monotype is a taxon
Taxon

A taxon or taxonomic unit is a name designating an organism or a group of organisms. In biological nomenclature according to Carl Linnaeus, a taxon is assigned a taxonomic rank and can be placed at a particular level in a systematic hierarchy reflecting evolutionary relationships....
 that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon
Taxon

A taxon or taxonomic unit is a name designating an organism or a group of organisms. In biological nomenclature according to Carl Linnaeus, a taxon is assigned a taxonomic rank and can be placed at a particular level in a systematic hierarchy reflecting evolutionary relationships....
.






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In biology, a monotype is a taxonomic
Alpha taxonomy

Alpha taxonomy is the science of finding, describing and categorising organisms, thus leading to the recognition of proposed taxonomic groups, or taxon , which may then be naming conventions....
 group with only one type
Biological type

In biology, a type is that which fixes a name to a taxon. Depending on the Nomenclature Codes which is applied to the organism in question, a type may be a specimen, culture, illustration, description or taxon....
:

In botany
Botany

Botany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the Scientific method of plant life and development....
, a monotype is a taxon
Taxon

A taxon or taxonomic unit is a name designating an organism or a group of organisms. In biological nomenclature according to Carl Linnaeus, a taxon is assigned a taxonomic rank and can be placed at a particular level in a systematic hierarchy reflecting evolutionary relationships....
 that has only one species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
: Ginkgo
Ginkgo

Ginkgo , frequently misspelled as "Gingko", and also known as the Maidenhair Tree after Adiantum, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives....
 is a monotypic genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, while Ginkgoaceae
Ginkgoaceae

The Ginkgoaceae is a family of gymnosperms which appeared during the Mesozoic Era, of which the only extant representative is Ginkgo biloba, which is for this reason sometimes regarded as a living fossil....
 is a monotypic family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
. The phrase is not accurate in cases where a species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 includes more than a single type; some species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 may include several subspecies
Subspecies

In biology, subspecies is the taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a species. A subspecies is a taxonomic group which is less distinct than the Common descent or species from which it originates....
 (or other infraspecific taxa) each of which will have a type. A more accurate term in those cases is unispecific.
An example is the family Cephalotaceae, with only one species: Cephalotus follicularis, the Albany Pitcher Plant.


In zoology
Zoology

Zoology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of animals. The most common pronunciation of "zoology" is ; however, an alternative pronunciation is ....
, a monotype is a taxon
Taxon

A taxon or taxonomic unit is a name designating an organism or a group of organisms. In biological nomenclature according to Carl Linnaeus, a taxon is assigned a taxonomic rank and can be placed at a particular level in a systematic hierarchy reflecting evolutionary relationships....
 that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon
Taxon

A taxon or taxonomic unit is a name designating an organism or a group of organisms. In biological nomenclature according to Carl Linnaeus, a taxon is assigned a taxonomic rank and can be placed at a particular level in a systematic hierarchy reflecting evolutionary relationships....
. For example, a monotypic genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 has only one species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
. Conversely, one can say that the contained taxon
Taxon

A taxon or taxonomic unit is a name designating an organism or a group of organisms. In biological nomenclature according to Carl Linnaeus, a taxon is assigned a taxonomic rank and can be placed at a particular level in a systematic hierarchy reflecting evolutionary relationships....
 is monotypic within the larger taxon
Taxon

A taxon or taxonomic unit is a name designating an organism or a group of organisms. In biological nomenclature according to Carl Linnaeus, a taxon is assigned a taxonomic rank and can be placed at a particular level in a systematic hierarchy reflecting evolutionary relationships....
; a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 monotypic within a family.
An example is the genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 Tarsius which is monotypic within the family Tarsiidae, which is itself monotypic in the Tarsiiformes. An example of a monotypic species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 is the Hyacinth Macaw
Hyacinth Macaw

Native to central and eastern South America, the Hyacinth Macaw , or Hyacinthine Macaw, is the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species in the world, though the flightless Kakapo of New Zealand can outweigh it at up to 3.5kg....
 (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), in which no subspecies
Subspecies

In biology, subspecies is the taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a species. A subspecies is a taxonomic group which is less distinct than the Common descent or species from which it originates....
 can be distinguished. The Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus) has numerous subspecies across its range, but belongs to the genus Panurus (monotypic as to species), which current knowledge considers monotypic within the family Panuridae.


In the view of evolution
Evolution

In biology, evolution is change in the heritability trait of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. These changes are caused by a combination of three main processes: variation, reproduction, and selection....
ary biology, taxonomy is a means to represent phylogenetic knowledge. Thus, it is usually avoided to establish monotypic taxa if this does not seem warranted e.g. by phylogenetic evidence such as fossil
Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or trace fossil of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous Rock formations and sedimentary rock layers is known as the fossil record....
s or inference from cladistic analyses.

See also

Category:Monotypic taxonomic groups
  • Polytypic
    Polytypic

    In zoology, polytypic refers to a taxonomy group with more than one subgroup at the next lower taxonomic level.in Bilogy, Ploytypic refers to differences in humans....
  • Race (classification of human beings) (a more detailed definition of monotypes in the context of humans, Homo sapiens)


Footnotes