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Cryptogenic species

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A cryptogenic species ("cryptogenic" being derived from Greek "κρυπτός", meaning hidden, and "γένεσις", meaning origin) is a species whose origins are unknown. The cryptogenic species can be an animal or plant, including other kingdoms or domains, such as fungi, algae, bacteria, or even viruses.

In ecology, a cryptogenic species is one which may be either a native species or an introduced species, clear evidence for either origin being absent.[1] An example is the Northern Pacific seastar (Asterias amurensis) in Alaska and Canada.[2]

In palaeontology, a cryptogenic species is one which appears in the fossil record without clear affinities to an earlier species.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Alan Burdick (2006). Out of Eden: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 233. ISBN 9780374530433.
  2. ^ NIMPIS Database

Further reading

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