Monotypic
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Monotypic refers to a taxonomic group with only one subgroup at the next (smaller) taxonomic level, for example, a monotypic genus has only one species.
An example is the genus Darlingtonia, the only member species of which is Darlingtonia californica.
Another example is the extant species Homo sapiens, the human species, which, as of the end of the twentieth century, is considered to be indivisible into separate sub-species or races.
Some researchers assume the extinct Neandertal to be a sub-species of H. sapiens, which would split the species Homo sapiens into two: Homo sapiens sapiens would be today's people and the Neandertals would then be called Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. This would not change today's status of H. sapiens as a monotypic species.
See also
- Linnaean taxonomy
- polytypic
- race for a more detailed definition of monotypic in the context of a species, and its relevance regarding the species Homo sapiens