paratype

American  

[par-uh-tahyp] / ˈpær əˌtaɪp /

noun

Biology.

1. a specimen other than a type specimen that is used for the original description of a taxonomic group and specifically stated to be the one on which the original description of the taxon was based.

---

Other Word Forms

• paratypic adjective

Example Sentences

The mount contains at least some bones from the paratype, but there could be others in the mix.

From Scientific American • Jul. 16, 2017

Our holotype and paratype specimens of Acamptonectes are from the Hauterivian.

From Scientific American • Jan. 3, 2012

A second Speeton Clay specimen, discovered in 1985, is in the collections of the Natural History Museum in London and was used by us as a second paratype.

From Scientific American • Jan. 3, 2012

Cotypes: are all the specimens before the describer when a species is named, no single one being selected as the type: the type in such case equals the sum of the cotypes: see paratype.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.

The type and topotypic paratype were given to a member of the K.U. field party by a Mexican youth who had obtained them the previous night on the lower rocky slopes of the canyon.

From A New Snake of the Genus Geophis From Chihuahua, Mexico by Legler, John M.