mimotype

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In zoology and zoögeog., a type or form of animal life which in one country is the analogue or representative of a type or form found in another country, to which it is not very closely related. Thus, the American starlings (Icteridæ) are mimotypes of the Old World starlings (Sturnidæ); the American genus Geomys is mimotypic of the African Georychus; the American jumping-mouse (Zapus) replaces the jerboas (Dipus) of Africa.