type specimen

noun

, Biology.

1. an individual organism from which the description of a species has been prepared.

type specimen

noun

1. biology the original specimen from which a description of a new species is made Also calledholotype

Word History and Origins

Origin of type specimen¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Twenty-three of the 52 specimens were "type specimens," the gold standard designating a species against which all other samples are measured.

From Science Daily

The shoulder bone is especially valuable because it was the first A. sediba fossil to be discovered and is the reference, or type specimen, that defines the species.

From Scientific American

"The whole point of a museum," said Means, is to take care of type specimens "in perpetuity."

From Salon

For example, the 170-year-old type specimen has bright yellow glass eyes and legs that have faded to pale brown.

From New York Times

Likewise, museums hold type specimens of fossils, meteorites and biological samples.

From Nature