lectotype

[lek-tuh-tahyp]

noun

Biology.

1. a specimen designated as the type of a species or subspecies when no holotype was designated by the original author of the name.

Other Word Forms

• lectotypic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lectotype¹

First recorded in 1905–10; from Greek lek(tós) “chosen” + type ( def. ); logos ( def. ), lection ( def. )

Example Sentences

Lectotype: a co-type chosen, subsequently to the original description, to take the place which in other cases a holotype occupies.

From Project Gutenberg