Word.ws English Dictionary

lectotype

lectotype noun: a biological specimen or illustration later selected to serve as definitive type example of a species or subspecies when the original author of the name did not designate a holotype.

Noun

lectotype (plural lectotypes)

  1. A biological specimen or illustration later selected to serve as definitive type example of a species or subspecies when the original author of the name did not designate a holotype.
    • Where the original diagnosis is without illustrations or is accompanied by figues based on two or more specimens, the first subsequent author is at liberty to select from these cotypes a type for the old species, adhering, as far as can be ascertained to the intention of the original author. Such a...1905, George P. Merrill, Bulletin of the United States National Museum, Vol. 53, page 12
    • The lectotype and paratype, which are before me, are both iron-stained, predominantly internal composite molds of left valves in a fine-grained, white quartzite matrix.1968, Arcie Lee McAlester, “Type Species of Paleozoic Nuculoid Bivalve Genera”, in Memoir, Geological Society of America, 105, page 19

Examples of lectotype in a sentence

  • Such a type speciment is to be designated as a lectotype...1905, George P. Merrill, Bulletin of the United States National Museum, Vol. 53, page 12:
  • Lectotype designation is justified under article 74.1.1 of the ICZN (1999) in order to fix the status of this specimen as the sole name-bearing type of this species.2000, Scientific Papers, Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, page 27:

Forms of lectotype

plurallectotypes

Origin of lectotype

From Ancient Greek λέκτος (léktos, “chosen”), from λέγειν (légein, “to choose”) + τύπος (túpos, “blow, impression”).

Words formed from lectotype

Questions about lectotype

What does lectotype mean?
Lectotype means a biological specimen or illustration later selected to serve as definitive type example of a species or subspecies when the original author of the name did not designate a holotype.
How do you use lectotype in a sentence?
Such a type speciment is to be designated as a lectotype...
What part of speech is lectotype?
Lectotype is a noun.
What is the plural of lectotype?
The plural of lectotype is lectotypes.

Words near lectotype in the dictionary

  1. lectorships
  2. lectosign
  3. lectosigns
  4. lectostratotype
  5. lectostratotypes
  6. lectotype
  7. lectotypes
  8. lectotypic
  9. lectotypification
  10. lectotypifications
  11. lectotypified

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: lectotype (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “lectotype.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/lectotype. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.