Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The single specimen or other element used or designated as the type specimen of a species or subspecies in the original published description of the taxon.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A particular individual selected as the type of a species, or the only specimen known at the time of publication of the species.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The single
physical example (orillustration ) of anorganism , known to be used when thetaxon was formallydescribed .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the original specimen from which the description of a new species is made
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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A holotype is single specimen or "illustration" designated as the type for naming a species or subspecies.
Archive 2007-02-01 2007
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Theretairus (Simpson 1926) is known from two specimens (the holotype is a single dentary from Como Bluff), although some consider it to be a juvenile form of Opisthias.
The Tuatara -- The Fastest Evolving Animal ReBecca Foster 2008
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Theretairus (Simpson 1926) is known from two specimens (the holotype is a single dentary from Como Bluff), although some consider it to be a juvenile form of Opisthias.
Archive 2008-03-01 ReBecca Foster 2008
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MCZ 1102, the holotype skull of Triceratops "eurycepahlus" Shlaikjer 1935 (now considered conspecific with T. horridus).
Howard Hughes Wanders Out Among the Artifacts nineweaving 2010
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Photograph and line drawing of holotype specimen of Limusaurus inextricabilis (scale bar = 5 cm).
"This flood will swallow all you've left behind." greygirlbeast 2009
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Originally described as Megalosaurus parkeri in 1923, the holotype was referred to a new genus in 1964.
My Birth Dinosaur! greygirlbeast 2009
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They depicted the holotype and paratypes of the species in photographs, and a specimen of the species had been unavailable for preservation and examination.
Archive 2008-12-01 2008
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The holotype of M. acetabulosus is from Mauritius and the new taxon described herein is from La Réunion.
Archive 2008-11-01 2008
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Several holotype specimens are on display and have been available for research.
Archive 2009-06-01 ReBecca Foster 2009
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Several holotype specimens are on display and have been available for research.
University of Wyoming Geological Museum cuts ReBecca Foster 2009
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Lorraine Daston (2004) shows in her history of botany that taxonomies often use holotypes, which combine the range of peculiarities a species might exhibit into an ideal specimen that has never existed.
A Claxonomy of Mexico City’s Traffic Lachlan Summers 2023
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The small dinosaur is a holotype, a specimen that scientists use to describe a new species.
sratsrat commented on the word holotype
I must have first read this in Darwin, J. Browne's biography.
July 31, 2009
bilby commented on the word holotype
You should have dropped in to say hello!
July 31, 2009