type specimen

American

noun

Biology.

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

type specimen British

noun

Also called: holotype. biology the original specimen from which a description of a new species is made

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of type specimen

First recorded in 1890–95

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.

Among them was the original type specimen of the Himalayan pit viper, which helped researchers confirm the snake's true scientific identity.

From Science Daily • May 26, 2026

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 • Sep. 13, 2023

The general accepted standards are to have a type specimen, or even better, a series of specimens.

From Slate • Nov. 20, 2021

They inquired about six lichen samples, including a type specimen of Buellia macularis, that they had shipped to the Australian National Herbarium in Canberra last year.

From Science Magazine • May 11, 2017

There is still no type specimen for modern humans.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023