Type (biology)

[3] Describing species and appointing type specimens is part of scientific nomenclature and alpha taxonomy.

[citation needed] For example, in the research collection of the Natural History Museum in London, there is a bird specimen numbered 1886.6.24.20.

This is a specimen of a kind of bird commonly known as the spotted harrier, which currently bears the scientific name Circus assimilis.

That species was named and described by Jardine and Selby in 1828, and the holotype was placed in the museum collection so that other scientists might refer to it as necessary.

Genera and families, particularly those established by early taxonomists, tend to be named after species that are more "typical" for them, but here too this is not always the case and due to changes in systematics cannot be.

These are The word "type" appears in botanical literature as a part of some older terms that have no status under the ICN: for example a clonotype.

A "name-bearing type" is a specimen or image that "provides the objective standard of reference whereby the application of the name of a nominal taxon can be determined.

"[citation needed] Although in reality biologists may examine many specimens (when available) of a new taxon before writing an official published species description, nonetheless, under the formal rules for naming species (the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature), a single type must be designated, as part of the published description.

Ensuring that types are kept in good condition and made available for examination by taxonomists are two important functions of such collections.

[10] The holotype is typically placed in a major museum, or similar well-known public collection, so that it is freely available for later examination by other biologists.

When a species was originally described on the basis of a name-bearing type consisting of multiple specimens, one of those may be designated as the lectotype.

Having a single name-bearing type reduces the potential for confusion, especially considering that it is not uncommon for a series of syntypes to contain specimens of more than one species.

[12][13] He published the first book considered to be part of taxonomical nomenclature, the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, which included the first description of Homo sapiens and determined all valid syntypes for the species.

[12] It has also been suggested that Edward Cope is the lectotype for Homo sapiens, based on the 1994 reporting by Louie Psihoyos of an unpublished proposal by Bob Bakker to do so.

[16] A special case in Protistans where the type consists of two or more specimens of "directly related individuals" within a preparation medium such as a blood smear.

The terms parahapantotype and lectohapantotype refer to type preparations additional to the hapantotype and designated by the describing author.

However, in the case of the bushshrike, ornithologists have argued that the specimen was a rare and hitherto unknown color morph of a long-known species, using only the available blood and feather samples.

While there is still some debate on the need to deposit actual killed individuals as type specimens, it can be observed that given proper vouchering and storage, tissue samples can be just as valuable should dispute about the validity of a species arise.

There are many other permutations and variations on terms using the suffix "-type" (e.g., allotype, cotype, topotype, generitype, isotype, isoneotype, isolectotype, etc.)

[citation needed] Ideally, a type species best exemplifies the essential characteristics of the genus to which it belongs, but this is subjective and, ultimately, technically irrelevant, as it is not a requirement of the Code.