Monotypic taxon
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and restoration ecology concerning a dominant invasive biological type.
Contents |
[edit] Botany
In botany, a monotypic taxon is a taxon that has only one species: Ginkgo is a monotypic genus, while Ginkgoaceae is a monotypic family. The phrase is not accurate in cases where a species includes more than a single type; some species may include several subspecies (or other infraspecific taxa) each of which will have a type. A more accurate term in those cases is unispecific.
- An example is the family Cephalotaceae, with only one species: Cephalotus follicularis, the Albany Pitcher Plant.
[edit] Zoology
In zoology, a monotypic taxon is a taxon that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon.[1] For example, a monotypic genus has only one species. Conversely, one can say that the contained taxon is monotypic within the larger taxon; a genus monotypic within a family.
- An example is the genus Tarsius which is monotypic within the family Tarsiidae, which is itself monotypic in the Tarsiiformes. An example of a monotypic species is the Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), in which no subspecies can be distinguished. The Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus) has numerous subspecies across its range, but belongs to the genus Panurus (monotypic as to species), which current knowledge considers monotypic within the family Panuridae.
In the view of evolutionary biology, taxonomy is a means to represent phylogenetic knowledge. Thus, it is usually avoided to establish monotypic taxa if this does not seem warranted e.g. by phylogenetic evidence such as fossils or inference from cladistic analyses[2].
[edit] Conservation biology and habitats
Monotypic habitats occur in botanical and zoological contexts, a component of conservation biology. In restoration ecology of native plant communities or habitats some Invasive species create monotypic stands that replace and/or prevent other species, especially indigenous ones, from growing there. A dominant colonization can occur from retardant chemicals exuded, nutrient monopolization, or from lack of natural controls such as herbivores or climate, that keep them in balance their native habitats. The Yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) species is a botanical monotypic habitat example of this, currently dominating over 15,000,000 acres (61,000 km2) in California alone.[3][4]. The non-native freshwater Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) species colonizing areas of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Watershed, without its home range predator control, is a zoological monotypic habitat example.
[edit] See also
- Polytypic
- Race (classification of human beings) (a more detailed definition of monotypes in the context of humans, Homo sapiens)
- Conservation biology
- Category:Monotypic mammal genera
- Category:Monotypic bird genera
- Category:Monotypic reptile genera
- Category:Monotypic amphibian genera
- Category:Monotypic fish genera
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Mayr & Ashlock (1991)
- ^ E.g. Parham & Feldman (2002)
- ^ Mount Diablo Review, Autumn 2007PDF (286 KiB), Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Retrieved on 2008-10-15.
- ^ 1970 distribution of yellow starthistle in the U.S., a map from UCD's Yellow Starthistle Information website
[edit] References
- Mayr E, Ashlock PD. (1991): Principles of Systematic Zoology (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-041144-1
- Parham, J.F. & Feldman, C.R. (2002): Generic revisions of emydine turtles. Turtle and Tortoise Newsletter 6: 28–30. PDF fulltext
