neotype

[nee-uh-tahyp]

noun

Biology.

1. a specimen selected to replace a holotype that has been lost or destroyed.

neotype

/ ˈniːəʊˌtaɪp /

noun

1. biology a specimen selected to replace a type specimen that has been lost or destroyed

Word History and Origins

Origin of neotype¹

First recorded in 1850–55; neo- + -type

Example Sentences

But designating a neotype "usually relies on other people being able to determine whether or not you can find a specimen of the same species from the same locality" as the holotype, said Seago.

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As did the neotype of V. douarrha, which reached the University of Turku’s natural-history collection without incident.

Read more on The New Yorker

It became the neotype to replace Taylor's lost specimen, and in 1997, Brown published a new description of the species.

Read more on Nature

In the absence of a type specimen and a justifiable type locality, I hereby designate as a neotype, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, No. 114668.

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Neotype: a specimen identified with a species already described, and selected as a standard of reference where the original type or co-types are lost or destroyed.

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