monotypic
Americanadjective
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having only one type.
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of the nature of a monotype.
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Biology. having only one representative, as a genus with a single species.
adjective
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(of a genus or species) consisting of only one type of animal or plant
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of or relating to a monotype
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Having a single form or member, especially containing no more than one taxonomic category of the next lower rank. A monotypic genus contains a single species, while a monotypic species consists of a single population that is not divided into subspecies.
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Compare polytypic
Etymology
Origin of monotypic
1875–80; mono- + type ( def. ) + -ic ( def. )
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.
When Hansen started at Ogden Bay WMA three years ago, he described driving down the management area dikes, completely socked in by a sea of monotypic green.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 12, 2018
The only endemic for which the geographic history cannot be adequately explained is the monotypic Pityriasis gymnocephala.
From Birds from North Borneo University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History, Volume 17, No. 8, pp. 377-433, October 27, 1966 by Max C. Thompson
This relatively poorly known monotypic species occurs from southern Veracruz to the Amazon Basin.
From Noteworthy Records of Bats From Nicaragua, with a Checklist of the Chiropteran Fauna of the Country by J. Knox Jones
Here we have what may perhaps be regarded as a glimmering of the distinction between monotypic and polytypic evolution.
From Darwin, and After Darwin (Vol 3 of 3) Post-Darwinian Questions: Isolation and Physiological Selection by George John Romanes
Again, natural selection differs from most of the other forms of isolation in that, unless assisted by some other form, it can never lead to polytypic, but only to monotypic evolution.
From Darwin, and After Darwin (Vol 3 of 3) Post-Darwinian Questions: Isolation and Physiological Selection by George John Romanes
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