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.
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, 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
divisionGinkgophyta 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]
Picomonas judraskeda is the only known species in the division Picozoa.[5]
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.[6]
Limnognathia maerski is a microscopic animal and the only species in the monotypic phylum Micrognathozoa.
The
narwhal is a medium-sized
cetacean that is the only member of the monotypic genus Monodon.[11]
The
platypus is the only member of the monotypic genus Ornithorhynchus.
The
salamanderfish is the only member of the order Lepidogalaxiiformes, which is the sister group to the remaining
euteleosts.[12]
Ozichthys albimaculosus, the cream-spotted cardinalfish, found in tropical Australia and southern New Guinea, is the type species of the monotypic genus Ozichthys.[13]
The
bearded reedling is the only species in the monotypic genus Panurus, which is the only genus in the monotypic family Panuridae.[14]
Canines form the only living subfamily of the dog family,
Canidae
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.
The family Cephalotaceae has only one genus, Cephalotus, which contains only one species, Cephalotus follicularis, the Australian pitcher plant.
^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.
^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.
PMID25284398.