superfamily

Noun

superfamily (plural superfamilies)

1. A taxonomic category above family and below order (and its subdivisions).
   • There is no reason to deny a natural sequence or to split off genera only to have to attempt later to re-insert them into the whole by means of subordos and superfamilies.1967, Zoologische Verhandelingen, page 32
   • The genus Saipanetta has been suggested to be a surviving relict of the metacopidan superfamily Healdiacea because of its muscle scar pattern and narrow duplicature; nevertheless, it differs from the Metacopida in its more complex hingement, lack of a distinct contact groove, exaggerated domiciliar...1978, Philip D. Gingerich, New Condylarthra (Mammalia) from the Paleocene and Early Eocene of North America, page 289
2. (molecular biology) A large group of related proteins or other molecules.