Get Our Extension
Select Wikiz in another Language
DeutschEspañolFrançaisעבריתItalianoNederlands
Settings
A
A
Text Highlights
Notes/Citations
Edit on Wikipedia

Share This Article

About Wikiz About Us Cookies Policy Terms & Services Privacy Policy Contact Contact us Enjoying Wikipedia Content? DONATE TO WIKIPEDIA
Enjoying Wikipedia Content? DONATE TO WIKIPEDIA

Monotypic taxon

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
"Monotypic" redirects here. For the conservation biology term, see Monotypic habitat. For other uses, see Monotype (disambiguation).
"Monospecific" redirects here. For the immunology term, see Monospecific antibody.

In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon.[1] A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispecific" or "monospecific" is sometimes preferred. In botanical nomenclature, a monotypic genus is a genus in the special case where a genus and a single species are simultaneously described.[2] In contrast, an oligotypic taxon contains more than one but only a very few subordinate taxa.

Discover more about Monotypic taxon related topics

Biology

Biology

Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary information encoded in genes, which can be transmitted to future generations. Another major theme is evolution, which explains the unity and diversity of life. Energy processing is also important to life as it allows organisms to move, grow, and reproduce. Finally, all organisms are able to regulate their own internal environments.

Taxon

Taxon

In biology, a taxon is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and given a particular ranking, especially if and when it is accepted or becomes established. It is very common, however, for taxonomists to remain at odds over what belongs to a taxon and the criteria used for inclusion. If a taxon is given a formal scientific name, its use is then governed by one of the nomenclature codes specifying which scientific name is correct for a particular grouping.

Species

Species

In biology, a species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour, or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined.

Subspecies

Subspecies

In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species have subspecies, but for those that do there must be at least two. Subspecies is abbreviated subsp. or ssp. and the singular and plural forms are the same.

Botanical nomenclature

Botanical nomenclature

Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this process. The starting point for modern botanical nomenclature is Linnaeus' Species Plantarum of 1753. Botanical nomenclature is governed by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), which replaces the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN). Fossil plants are also covered by the code of nomenclature.

Examples

Just as the term monotypic is used to describe a taxon including only one subdivision, the contained taxon can also be referred to as monotypic within the higher-level taxon, e.g. a genus monotypic within a family. Some examples of monotypic groups are:

Plants

  • In the order Amborellales, there is only one family, Amborellaceae and there is only one genus, Amborella, and in this genus there is only one species, namely Amborella trichopoda.
  • The flowering plant Breonadia salicina is the only species in the monotypic genus Breonadia.
  • The family Cephalotaceae includes only one genus, Cephalotus, and only one species, Cephalotus follicularis – the Albany pitcher plant.
  • The division Ginkgophyta is monotypic, containing the single class Ginkgoopsida. This class is also monotypic, containing the single order Ginkgoales.[3]
  • Flowering plant Nandina domestica is the only species in the genus Nandina.
  • It is today generally accepted that cannabis (Cannabis sativa) is a monospecific genus.[4]

Animals

  • The madrone butterfly is the only species in the monotypic genus Eucheira. However, there are two subspecies of this butterfly, E. socialis socialis and E. socialis westwoodi, which means the species E. socialis is not monotypic.[5]
  • Delphinapterus leucas or the beluga whale is the only member of its genus and lacks subspecies.[6]
  • Dugong dugongis the only species in the monotypic genus Dugong.[7]
  • Homo sapiens (humans) are monotypic, as they have too little genetic diversity to harbor any living subspecies.[8]
  • The narwhal is a medium sized cetacean that is the only member of the monotypic genus Monodon.[9]
  • The platypus is the only member of the monotypic genus Ornithorhynchus.
  • Ozichthys albimaculosus, the cream-spotted cardinalfish, found in tropical Australia and southern New Guinea, is the type species of the monotypic genus Ozichthys.[10]
  • The bearded reedling is the only species in the monotypic genus Panurus, which is the only genus in the monotypic family Panuridae.[11]
  • In the order Amborellales, there is only one family, Amborellaceae and there is only one genus, Amborella , and in this genus there is only one species, namely Amborella trichopoda.

    In the order Amborellales, there is only one family, Amborellaceae and there is only one genus, Amborella , and in this genus there is only one species, namely Amborella trichopoda.

  • Beluga “kissing” a human trainer; both are monotypical in their genera.

    Beluga “kissing” a human trainer; both are monotypical in their genera.

  • The family Cephalotaceae has only one genus, Cephalotus, which contains only one species, Cephalotus follicularis, the Australian pitcher plant.

    The family Cephalotaceae has only one genus, Cephalotus, which contains only one species, Cephalotus follicularis, the Australian pitcher plant.

Discover more about Examples related topics

Family (biology)

Family (biology)

Family is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family".

Amborella

Amborella

Amborella is a monotypic genus of understory shrubs or small trees endemic to the main island, Grande Terre, of New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The genus is the only member of the family Amborellaceae and the order Amborellales and contains a single species, Amborella trichopoda. Amborella is of great interest to plant systematists because molecular phylogenetic analyses consistently place it as the sister group to all other flowering plants.

Breonadia

Breonadia

Breonadia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by Colin Ernest Ridsdale in 1975. The genus contains only one species, viz. Breonadia salicina, which is found in tropical and southern Africa from Mali and Benin east to Ethiopia, south to South Africa, as well as Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Madagascar.

Cephalotus

Cephalotus

Cephalotus is a genus which contains one species, Cephalotus follicularis the Albany pitcher plant, a small carnivorous pitcher plant. The pit-fall traps of the modified leaves have inspired the common names for this plant, which include 'Albany pitcher plant", "Western Australian pitcher plant", "Australian pitcher plant", or "fly-catcher plant." It is an evergreen herb that is endemic to peaty swamps in the southwestern corner of Western Australia.

Division (biology)

Division (biology)

Division is a taxonomic rank in biological classification that is used differently in zoology and in botany.

Cannabis

Cannabis

Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: Cannabis sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis. Alternatively, C. ruderalis may be included within C. sativa, all three may be treated as subspecies of C. sativa, or C. sativa may be accepted as a single undivided species. The genus is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from Asia.

Butterfly

Butterfly

Butterflies (Rhopalocera) are insects that have large, often brightly coloured wings, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the superfamilies Hedyloidea and Papilionoidea. Butterfly fossils date to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago.

Beluga whale

Beluga whale

The beluga whale is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus Delphinapterus. It is also known as the white whale, as it is the only cetacean to regularly occur with this colour; the sea canary, due to its high-pitched calls; and the melonhead, though that more commonly refers to the melon-headed whale, which is an oceanic dolphin.

Dugong

Dugong

The dugong is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow, was hunted to extinction in the 18th century.

Human

Human

Humans are the most abundant and widespread species of primate. They are a type of great ape that is characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. Humans are highly social and tend to live in complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families and kinship networks to political states. As such, social interactions between humans have established a wide variety of values, social norms, languages, and rituals, each of which bolsters human society. The desire to understand and influence phenomena has motivated humanity's development of science, technology, philosophy, mythology, religion, and other conceptual frameworks.

Genetic diversity

Genetic diversity

Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species, it ranges widely from the number of species to differences within species and can be attributed to the span of survival for a species. It is distinguished from genetic variability, which describes the tendency of genetic characteristics to vary.

Cetacea

Cetacea

Cetaceans are an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel themselves through the water with powerful up-and-down movement of their tail which ends in a paddle-like fluke, using their flipper-shaped forelimbs to maneuver.

Source: "Monotypic taxon", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, November 28th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotypic_taxon.

Enjoying Wikiz?

Enjoying Wikiz?

Get our FREE extension now!

Download Extension

Further Reading

Narwhal

Pitcher plant

Beluga whale

Amborella

Pieridae

Monodontidae

Melon (cetacean)

Cephalotus

Muktuk

Badisis

List of mammals of Svalbard and Jan Mayen

Mesangiospermae

Pitcher Plants of the Old World

Madrone butterfly

Trithuria inconspicua
See also
References
  1. ^ Mayr E, Ashlock PD. (1991). Principles of Systematic Zoology (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-041144-1
  2. ^ McNeill, J.; Barrie, F.R.; Buck, W.R.; Demoulin, V.; Greuter, W.; Hawksworth, D.L.; Herendeen, P.S.; Knapp, S.; Marhold, K.; Prado, J.; Reine, W.F.P.h.V.; Smith, G.F.; Wiersema, J.H.; Turland, N.J. (2012). "Article 38". International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code) adopted by the Eighteenth International Botanical Congress Melbourne, Australia, July 2011. Vol. Regnum Vegetabile 154. A.R.G. Gantner Verlag KG. ISBN 978-3-87429-425-6.
  3. ^ Wu, Chung-Shien; Chaw, Shu-Miaw; Huang, Ya-Yi (2013). "Chloroplast Phylogenomics Indicates that Ginkgo biloba Is Sister to Cycads". Genome Biology and Evolution. 5 (1): 243–254. doi:10.1093/gbe/evt001. PMC 3595029. PMID 23315384.
  4. ^ DOI: 10.1007/s11032-005-5681-x
  5. ^ Kevan, P. G.; Bye, R. A. (1991). "The natural history, sociobiology, and ethnobiology of Eucheira socialis Westwood (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), a unique and little-known butterfly from Mexico". Entomologist. 110: 146–165.
  6. ^ Designatable Units for Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Canada (PDF) (Report). Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. 2016.
  7. ^ Jefferson, Thomas A.; Webber, Marc A.; Pitman, Robert L. (2015). "Taxonomic Groupings Above the Species Level". Marine Mammals of the World. pp. 17–23. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-409542-7.50003-2. ISBN 978-0-12-409542-7.
  8. ^ Premo, L. S.; Hublin, J.-J. (6 January 2009). "Culture, population structure, and low genetic diversity in Pleistocene hominins". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (1): 33–37. Bibcode:2009PNAS..106...33P. doi:10.1073/pnas.0809194105. PMC 2629215. PMID 19104042.
  9. ^ COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the narwhal Monodon monoceros in Canada (PDF) (Report). Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. 2004.
  10. ^ Fraser, Thomas H. (14 August 2014). "A new genus of cardinalfish from tropical Australia and southern New Guinea (Percomorpha: Apogonidae)". Zootaxa. 3852 (2): 283–293. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3852.2.7. PMID 25284398.
  11. ^ "ITIS - Report: Panurus biarmicus".
External links
  • The dictionary definition of monotypic at Wiktionary
Categories

The content of this page is based on the Wikipedia article written by contributors..
The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence & the media files are available under their respective licenses; additional terms may apply.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization & is not affiliated to WikiZ.com.