A cryptogenic species (" cryptogenic" being derived from Greek " κρυπτός", meaning hidden, and " γένεσις", meaning origin) is a species whose origins are unknown. The cryptogenic species can be an animal or plant, including other kingdoms or domains, such as fungi, algae, bacteria, or even viruses.
In ecology, a cryptogenic species is one which may be either a native species or an introduced species, clear evidence for either origin being absent. [1] An example is the Northern Pacific seastar (Asterias amurensis) in Alaska and Canada. [2]
In palaeontology, a cryptogenic species is one which appears in the fossil record without clear affinities to an earlier species.
See also
References
- ^ Alan Burdick (2006). Out of Eden: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 233. ISBN 9780374530433.
- ^ NIMPIS Database
Further reading
- James T. Carlton (1996). "Biological invasions and cryptogenic species". Ecology. 77 (6). Ecological Society of America: 1653–1655. doi: 10.2307/2265767. JSTOR 2265767.
- G. J. Inglis; B. J. Hayden & W. A. Nelson (2006). "Are the Marine Biotas of Island Ecosystems More Vulnerable to Invasion?". In Rob Allen (ed.). Biological invasions in New Zealand. Springer. pp. 122–124. ISBN 9783540300229.