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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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

From Scientific American • Jul. 16, 2017

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

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

From Scientific American • Jan. 3, 2012

The paratype was calling at night from a low herb at the edge of a small stream in the cloud forest.

From Descriptions of Two Species of Frogs, Genus Ptychohyla Studies of American Hylid Frogs, V by Duellman, William E.

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.